Beyond Words
by Blue Rose 01
Summary: Because there are some things that even the greatest of geniuses cannot put into words. ItaSaku, Non-massacre AU.
1. A Lost Home

_**Beyond Words**_

_Summary:_ _Itachi has always been a man of few words and Sakura learns that sometimes, there are things that cannot be expressed with words and are better expressed through actions. ItaSaku, Non-massacre AU._

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.

Enjoy (:

0-0-0

Sakura sits in the Hokage's office, staring at her shaking hands and seeing blood that's already been washed off long ago. She doesn't hear the heavy conversation that's taking place around her between her teammates and her mentor, all she can hear is the blood rushing in her ears and the heavy beating of her heart. She does her best to keep from hyperventilating and holds in the tears that threaten to fall.

_-30 minutes ago-_

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura make their way back to her apartment after training—Naruto had _insisted _that they walk her home today, saying something about not spending enough time as a team, disregarding the fact that they made a point to train together at least 5 days a week, if they weren't on a mission, and they ate lunch together almost eveyday. Recognizing the look in Naruto's eyes that says he won't drop the subject easily, Sakura doesn't say anything to discourage them from doing so—that, and the fact that she's simply too tired go through the trouble. Sakura's done a good job hiding it so far, but today's an incredibly weary day for her because it's her father's one year death anniversary. He was killed on the battlefield and went the way any honourable shinobi should, she reminds herself, but she can't ignore the suffocating feeling of loneliness that threatens to overwhelm her just at the thought of him. She still has her mother though, and they've gotten by fine with just each other so far. Sasuke and Naruto both sense that something's off with Sakura—which should be raising red flags, if _Naruto, _of all people, is noticing—and both have a slight idea of the cause, but neither broach the subject with her.

They reach her house soon enough and she turns around to thank them and say goodbye. Naruto offers her a hug and she returns his affection and to her complete and utter surprise, Sasuke also offers her a quick hug, but a hug nonetheless. It takes all of her self-control not to let her jaw drop and just stare. Her childish crush had died long ago, but she finds herself fighting a light blush down and fidgeting awkwardly because really, that was incredibly uncalled for. She turns to open the door and step inside, but freezes immediately as she is met with sickening amounts of blood and gore. Being a shinobi, she has seen her fair share of gruesome murders and death, but nothing could have eve prepared her for this sight; blood smeared all over the walls, her name written in the blood, as if calling her, and the undeniable knowledge—no matter how many times she tells herself otherwise—that this can only belong to one person.

"What…" Sakura stares straight ahead, finding a hard time breathing all of a sudden, let alone speak. "…I…" It takes all of her remaining strength not to collapse right there. The two boys rush to her side, seeing that she is dangerously close to falling on her knees, when they chance a look inside to see absolute chaos. Sakura's knees give out on her, but the fall never comes and she distantly realizes that Sasuke had broken her fall as he eases her down gently.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" comes Naruto's loud exclamation after a few moments of tense silence.

"Shut up, dobe. You're too loud." For once, Naruto doesn't yell at Sasuke for calling him names and he simply looks down at Sakura.

"Sakura-chan," he calls lamely, his voice weaker than he intended. Sakura's eyes widen into saucers and she bolts upright much too quickly and nearly hits Sasuke's chin on her way up. She apologizes hurriedly before bolting into the mess that was her home, nearly twisting an ankle in her rush. Naruto and Sasuke exchange worried, knowing glances before following her.

Sakura freezes to the spot upon seeing her mother, gruesomely disembodied, different body parts sprawled across her own bedroom. A second feels like an eternity stretched over as a million and one thoughts pass through Sakura's mind. Her mind's first reaction and defense mechanism is denial; safe, sweet denial. _'This never happened,' _she repeats to herself. These body parts, the arm on her bed, the leg on her dresser, her name written on the walls in blood, it's not really there and it's not really her mother's. This didn't happen on the one year anniversary of her father's death. Sakura really doesn't know what to think anymore, doesn't know how to, and she suddenly forgets how to breath; they come to her in ragged, hyperventilating pants. She rushes to her mother's main body, still partly intact and tires her very best to stop the blood that's still overflowing.

_'I can fix this,' _she repeats to herself, _'I just need to stop the bleeding…and—'_

Suddenly, everything is happening too fast and the realization of what _really _happened here hits Sakura hard. She only vaguely feels Sasuke wrap an arm around her waist as Naruto moves to stand in front of her and envelops her in a hug, effectively blocking her view of everything but his ridiculously orange outfit. Neither one cares about the blood that smears all over their clothes.

"Let's go," she hears Sasuke mutter quietly, "We need to report this to the Hokage."

Sakura grips on to Naruto's jacket and Sasuke's hand. "No…" she lets out a weak sound. "We can't leave her here." Her words are almost too quiet to hear over her rapidly beating heart. She shakes her head, burying herself further in Naruto's embrace.

"C'mon Sakura-chan," Naruto says gently. They begin leading her out of the house and she lets herself be led, focusing on not shaking or falling on her knees and simply crying. She has not cried since her father's death, promising to be a true kunoichi, never letting these kinds of emotions stop her from doing her job efficiently.

_-Present-_

"Sakura," she vaguely hears her mentor call her; she looks up uneasily to meet the worried, amber eyes in front of her. "You'll be staying in the Uchiha compound tonight, alright? Sasuke has a spare room and we've discussed this entire ordeal. Until we get everything sorted out, you will stay there."

Sakura looks up at Sasuke, then at her mentor, "That won't be necessary, shishou; I can just rent a room myself." She tries to keep her voice steady, but her voice catches on the last word and she inwardly chides herself. Tsunade looks at her sternly, silently telling her that there is no room for argument on this. Sakura looks at her shishou, silently pleading her to let her rent a room. She doesn't want to be seen as weak, nor does she want to be a burden to Sasuke's family. His father and brother may not act differently towards her, but knowing Mikoto, she'll be too gentle, too caring, and the last thing Sakura wants is for the kind matriarch to feel obliged to care for her.

As if reading her thoughts, Sasuke speaks up, "Just listen to her, Sakura. It's no problem to me, or my family."

"Ne, baa-chan, why can't she stay with me?" Naruto complains. She explains to him, just how dangerous his home is and names a few of the many hazards in his home, and he quiets down almost immediately.

Sakura finally agrees to the circumstances grudgingly and she is ushered out of the room, still trying to flush the image of her mother's silently screaming face out of her mind. Sasuke walks her to his house while Naruto goes to Ino's house. Under the request of the Hokage, Ino is informed of what happened earlier that day and is requested to go to the store and buy some things that Sakura will need during her stay at the Uchiha compound. Her things are to be left in her home for taking them out would disturb the crime scene, and of course, no one could ask her to go to her house, where her mother lays completely torn apart, literally, to go pick out some clothes for, in essence, an extended slumber party at her friend's house.

_Uchiha Compound_

Sasuke takes Sakura to the spare room, just across his room and beside his brother's, before going to speak with his mother and father about the Hokage's instructions. He's fairly certain that his parents, or Mikoto at least, won't mind the least that Sakura stays with them, with or without the Hokage's request, and with or without the incident that occurred earlier, but he tells them anyway to make sure they are fully informed, besides, they'll find out sooner or later. Predictably enough, his father gives his assent impassively, while his mother looks absolutely horrified while murmuring something along the lines of, 'The poor thing.' Mikoto springs to life then, making her way to the cupboard to prepare some blueberry tea which, she has learned over the years, is Sakura's favorite. Fugaku on the other hand, simply gets up and leaves, though Sasuke has no idea as to where he is going.

"You know, Sasuke-kun," Mikoto says while she prepares Sakura's tea, "This would be a perfect opportunity to get closer to Sakura…and…well…potentially get involved in a relationship."

Sasuke very nearly chokes on the tea he is currently drinking but manages to force it back, and with years of practice is able to keep a relatively stoic face, but a twitch of his left eye escapes. "We do not see each other that way, kaa-san, and we never will."

Mikoto just smiles one of those knowing smiles that mothers always seem to be wearing. "Very well then, if you say so. Will you go take this to Sakura-chan for me?"

"Hai."

0-0-0

Sakura sits down on the bed shakily, nursing the blueberry tea Sasuke had brought her earlier, trying to get a grip on her emotions. Being surrounded by so many Uchihas who have no problems whatsoever with concealing their emotions leaves her feeling more than a bit embarrassed at her obvious lack of ability to do so. She stares at her hands, still in horror at the large amounts of blood that had previously stained them. Her breath leaves her in a deep, unsteady sigh as she closes her eyes. _'Just get a damn grip already,' _she commands herself, _'What kind of a kunoichi are you.' _Her thoughts are interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," she calls.

The door slides open revealing, to her utmost surprise, Uchiha Itachi. "Good evening, Haruno-san," he greets her politely with a slight bow.

Sakura – still in mild shock and wonder as to why _the _Uchiha Itachi, greatest prodigy in Konoha at the moment, and clan heir would come to visit her – nods and greets him in return.

"I offer my deepest condolences for your loss," he says gently, in a tone she didn't even think him capable of. His calm voice helps to soothe her frayed nerves somewhat and help her get a grip on the situation. Of course, soft pillow and big teddy bear would have done wonders for her grief right now and Sakura has to remind herself that she isn't a five year old girl anymore

"Thank you, Uchiha-san," she says, equally quiet. It occurs to her then, that calling him Uchiha-san may not be the smartest thing to do, considering she's currently in the Uchiha compound. If she were to call him that in a more public place, all of the Uchihas would undoubtedly turn to her.

"Don't you think we've known each other long enough for you to call me by my first name?" He asks, as if reading her mind.

"In that case, you can call me Sakura." Despite her previous mood, she smiles at him rather convincingly, but Itachi can see the strain it causes her and the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Very well, Sakura-san," Sakura motions for him to sit down on the chair by the table, and does as asked, though he knows he'll be getting up soon. "Kaa-san has requested that I take you around the compound so you can familiarize yourself. Sasuke was called to the Hokage's office earlier and will be there for some time."

"Thank you, and I'm sorry to have to put you through this, I'm sure you have some training to do." She moves off the bed to stand unsteadily. It seems her legs weren't quite ready to support her, but she does her very best to stand up straight.

"It is no problem. There is no rush, sit if you need to; I've finished my duties for the day."

She doesn't know why, but this surprises her. Sure, it's now nearly eight in the evening so it would make sense that he's done for the day, but she's just always thought that someone like Itachi would be working and training all the time, save for eating, sleeping, and washroom breaks. The idea of sitting down is more than appealing right now, but she doesn't want to make him wait, also, she doesn't want to appear weak, especially not in front of someone like him. She's always been the strong one in times like this; when her father was declared MIA she cried for one night, but after that, she'd been the pillar of strength for her mother, who isn't—wasn't, she reminds herself—a ninja, so she felt no need to restrain her tears. When Ino's mother died, she stayed with her all the time, never once showing weakness, in hopes of helping Ino get through it. There had been several occasions when she was the one who held her tears back to help reassure the one suffering that things would turn out fine. But now, as melodramatic as it sounds, it feels as though she's lost everything; sure, she still has Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi, as well as many other close friends who have become like family to her, but her mother was the last thing she had to blood relations, and she wonders how Naruto gets through the night alone.

Sakura finally relents and sits back down on the couch, apologizing once more for keeping him. The silence between the two becomes more than a little uncomfortable and is on its way to 'incredibly awkward', well for Sakura at least. Itachi doesn't seem to mind the silence and he simply watches Sakura fidget with the edge of the bed sheets.

Sensing her discomfort, he decides to speak up. "I understand that today was not a particularly good day to begin with, so if you are tired, I can return tomorrow,"

This statement raises two thoughts; one, she really doesn't want to make him wait for her, but he might be busy tomorrow, why can't he just let her go _now?_ And two, it sounds as if he knows that today is her father's one year death anniversary, but how would he know that? She's fairly certain that Sasuke wouldn't bring something like that up, and to his stoic brother no less. But then, how else would he know?

"How…?" Sakura is unable to ask a coherent question, and hates herself for sounding so impossibly _lame, _for lack of a better word. She is supposed to be the smartest in her year, save for Shikamaru of course, and she can't even ask a simple question, _'How did you know?' _or at least something slightly more intelligent than a weak, _'How?'_ She fights the urge to groan and bury her head in the pillow for making a fool of herself in front of one of the greatest geniuses to be raised in Konoha.

"I attended the service last year, and I recall this to be the same date," Itachi manages to give her a reply several times more intelligent, which only serves to make her feel as smart as a brain dead horse. However, her brain dead horse mind wonders how, or why, his infinitely more intellectual one would even remember something as trivial as that, since it obviously doesn't concern him. She supposes he stores _everything _in that mind of his.

"I see, well thank you for your consideration, but we can go right now, really," Sakura tries to persuade him, but he's still not completely convinced that she will not pass out or fall. But really, it's understandable that he feels this way; she still hasn't seen herself in the mirror, but if she could, she'd probably think the same thing. She is unnaturally pale, her eyes are hollow and no longer a bright emerald, but now jaded and dull, and she has rather prominent dark circles underneath said eyes. She convinces him that she's well enough to go today, but he refuses to go until she's fairly recovered and definitely won't fall on her face.

So they wait.

Sakura tries to make light conversation, because she really can't stand the awkward silence anymore, but she can't get much of a response out of him and she's tired of talking about herself.

"So…" Sakura fidgets awkwardly, "How's ANBU?" She immediately hits herself – mentally of course, because humiliating herself further is _not_ what she wants do right now – for asking such a terribly pathetic question. '_'How's ANBU'! Really?' _Inner Sakura chides, hitting her forehead repeatedly against her palm, and anything else she can find in her mind. She lets out an awkward laugh and looks down to her lap, too afraid to see the look on Itachi's face. You can't blame her though, making conversation with someone as socially introverted as Itachi isn't the easiest thing to do. He's been her patient at the hospital several times and they've built an easy companionship from his time there, but the hospital is _her _territory, a place where she can feel unquestionably comfortable. Now, however, after having gone through what she has in the past few hours, she feels terribly out of place and cannot even attempt to make easy conversation as she usually would.

Itachi raises an elegant eyebrow at Sakura's random question, but like the gentleman he was raised to be, gives her a characteristically polite, not to mention short, answer, "It is fine."

"…I see…I'm uh, feeling much better now, do you think it's fine if we go now?"

He studies her with an intensity that makes her lightly blush, which adds a bit of color to her pale face, and concludes that it is unlikely she will fall on her face and he'll be forced to carry her back. "Very well."

They leave the room much slower than is typically normal, though Sakura doesn't realize it and Itachi has no intention of bringing it up; he moves at the pace she is comfortable with. He directs her to the essential rooms, such as the bathrooms and kitchen, and tells her which rooms are forbidden. Even though their exchange is no long forced, it is still equally awkward and Sakura can't help the breath of relief that escapes her when he finally takes her back to her room.

"Goodnight, Sakura-san."

"Thank you, and goodnight, Itachi-san," Sakura bows slightly and, despite herself, smiles...just a bit. Yes, it had been incredibly awkward, but Itachi was nothing but nice to her and she is grateful for that. She enters her room and decides that it's time to go to bed, today has been incredibly tiring and she wants nothing more than to crawl up in the soft, jasmine scented blankets and stay there for a very, very long time. True to her word, she doesn't cry, not a drop, and she is slightly rather proud that she's able to hold it back. She offers a silent prayer to whatever Gods may be listening; she prays that her mother got to heaven, the afterlife, wherever people go after this life, safely.

_To be continued…_

Thank you everyone for reading! I hope my writing has improved a bit? I read over my other stories and was quite disappointed with them. But, practice makes perfect, ne? If you have any feedback, constructive criticism, then feel free to let me know, but please no flames? No, there isn't any ItaSaku-ness yet, but it'll get there, I guess you could call this the prologue of sorts, except that there's just too much going on to wave it off as a simple prologue.

Enjoy the holidays!

~Ja ne!


	2. Mission in the Snow

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Two: Mission in the Snow_

_Enjoy! (:_

0-0-0

It is a tiring, restless night for Sakura; the beds are more than comfortable but she twists and turns, unable to stay asleep for longer than ten minutes. After nearly an hour of trying, and failing miserably, to sleep peacefully, or sleep at all, Sakura throws the covers off her body and climbs out of bed. She vaguely remembers something about a garden that Itachi had shown her; she's always believed that gardens are one of the best places to go and simply think. With this thought in mind, she creeps out of her room quietly, hoping she doesn't disturb anyone, and searches out the Uchiha gardens. She walks around aimlessly for a while in the eerily silent compound until she stumbles upon it and she realizes that she doesn't know how she'd gotten here and now doesn't know how to get back.

No matter, she'll just wander aimlessly until she finds her way back to her room.

Sakura sits down on one of the benches and hugs her knees to her chest and briefly closes her eyes. The sound of the bamboo fountain does its part to soothe her frayed nerves. Everything happened so fast and she's had no time to simply take it in, but now, she takes some time to really think about her situation. What will she do when everything settles down? Where will she live? She doesn't think she'd be able to go back to her house after all that's happened, so perhaps she could purchase an apartment for her own. She would have to continue on with her life as if nothing happened, she supposes. There are so many emotions storming through her, she can't even tell one from the other and she feels so incredibly worn out from trying to sort out and suppress everything. She refuses to let a single tear fall from her eye, but even if she did, she knows that it wouldn't help because it wouldn't bring back her mom or dad, nor will it take the edge off her extreme loneliness. She doesn't want to talk about it, not even with her own inner persona, because that will only confirm the brutal reality; that yes, it's really happening and there's no chance of it being a dream. She would fail miserably if she were to even try because it's something that is unexplainable and she'd make a fool of herself if she tried. Sakura finds herself constantly asking why she didn't come home sooner, regretting even going out on that day, because it took her away from her mother who had no means to protect herself. She's a little lost because she doesn't know where to go from here, and she can't even fathom the idea of living alone, even though, being a ninja, she's supposed to be highly independent.

Everything is so overwhelming right now, but one thing is for certain, she's going to find that person who killed her mom and she's going to kill him, slowly and painfully.

0-0-0

Itachi is roused from his meditation by the sound of a door sliding open and light footsteps sneaking out of the room beside his. It seems Sakura was unable to get any sleep tonight and is feeling restless, understandably so. He wonders where she is going at this time of night, but then realizes that she probably hasn't eaten anything since lunch and is probably quite hungry. He realizes that he hasn't eaten anything since lunch either, and in order to be at full capacity, he shouldn't be starving himself. With that thought in mind, he gets up and makes his way to the kitchen.

Along the way there, he sees a silhouette crouched over in the gardens and, although it's too dark to see just who it is, he knows it's Sakura. He can feel her familiar chakra signature, having felt it course through his system so many times at the hospital. He watches her for a minute, wondering why she would leave the warmth of her room to go outside during the early hours of the morning where she could get sick. He decides he should probably give her some privacy and starts to walk away when he notices that she's shaking, visibly. She looks extremely lonely and cold, and he decides that perhaps he should go get her a jacket, or blanket, or even one of the many spare Uchiha robes. There is one hanging in the closet near the door leading outside and he takes it before making his way to her. Sakura is one of the few people he is comfortable being around and whose company he even enjoys because she is quite interesting – though he'd never admit such a thing out loud – so he doesn't mind going out of his way a bit to lend a hand when she obviously needs it. He knows she'll probably brush it off and try to appear unaffected, but she's always been an easy book to read, so it's quite obvious that she's very much affected by this entire situation.

"Sakura-san," he calls out, his quiet tenor echoing through their quiet surroundings.

Sakura looks up abruptly, but relaxes upon seeing who called her. "Itachi-san," she greets.

Itachi can't help but study her uncharacteristic features. She looks more weary and defeated than considered acceptable and it all looks wrong when she is this way. He's become accustomed to her naturally cheery, smiling face and her stubborn, defiant posture. She's now hunched over, looking like she's ready to give up, though he knows she never will. He reaches out and hands her the Uchiha robe and she looks at it rather strangely.

"You are shaking, I assumed you were cold," Itachi explains.

Sakura smiles a little, albeit rather sadly, but a smile nonetheless. In her time at the hospital, she's had Itachi as her patient more times than she can count and she's learned a few things about him. He teases people for his own personal amusement and has his own signature smirk when doing so, which had irritated her to no end at first, but she's gotten used to it by now and has even come to expect it from him. However, despite this, he's also extremely kind and selfless towards the people he's grown to like, though he'd never admit such a thing. Of course, having someone like Mikoto for a mother, she really shouldn't be surprised that Itachi turned out to be the considerate, polite gentleman he is. When it comes to dealing with things that don't have anything to do with his pride, missions, assassinations, or anything of the like, Itachi is surprisingly, unfailingly gentle. Being the genius that he is, he's always had a hard time communicating with others because he's on completely different level, intellectually, than most others. He is aware of this and doesn't bother to try to communicate with others at their own level. It's not that he's shy, or arrogant, he's just so different from everyone that it's hard to relate to others.

She takes the robe from him, offering her thanks. Itachi doesn't miss the way her voice is raw and coarse, he assumes it's from the emotional strain of the entire situation.

"You will get sick if you stay out here."

Sakura nods, "Just a while longer."

"Very well," He takes a seat beside her.

She looks up at him, "You don't have to stay out here." Itachi doesn't say anything, but simply looks out into the vast gardens. He understands why she would go out here. It's breathtaking during this time of year when the flowers are beginning to bloom and it's a good place to think and clear one's thoughts. They sit in relatively comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"I hope you're still taking your medicine Itachi-san. You still haven't fully recovered and if you get yourself landed back in the hospital, I'm going laugh at you and say I told you so."

Itachi smirks at her attempt to convince him, as much as herself, that she's not as bothered as she is and tries to return to her old self. He glances at her from the corner of his eye; she's not looking at him, but focusing her gaze at the gardens as he was previously. "I can assure you that will not be happening. I recovered quite well and will not need to return to the hospital any time soon."

"If you say so…" She's never realized it before, but having Itachi there makes her feel a little bit less lonely. She supposes having anyone there would do that, but his calm presence is somewhat contagious and she feels slightly calmer than she did when she was alone.

They sit for a while longer before Itachi decides it's time to go inside. He looks over at Sakura and finds she's fallen asleep. He debates whether he should wake her up and tell her to go inside, or just carry her to her room. In the end, he takes her back to her room himself because she's had a rough night and now that she's finally able to get some sleep, it would be inconsiderate to wake her up. Itachi picks her up easily and makes his way inside. She stirs in his arms and moves to tuck her herself further into the welcome heat his body provides her with. He raises an elegant eyebrow at this; he's always known that Sakura is an openly affectionate individual, rather odd for a kunoichi, and apparently she's that way in her sleep as well. He opens the door effortlessly, without having to put her down, when she stirs in his arms again, blearily opening her eyes. Itachi merely watches her strangely, she takes a while to really wake up and take in her surroundings, but when she does, it's really quite comical.

Sakura blinks a few times and distantly wonders why she's tucked in the way she is, and why she's so comfortably warm. Her foggy mind clears a little and she realizes she's not in the garden anymore, but in her room, it seems; but how did she get here? Her mind registers that someone must have taken her here and suddenly, it hits her that her warmth is coming from a person, she looks up and sees Itachi watching her with a somewhat amused look in his eyes. Her eyes widen and she apologizes a thousand and one times and struggles in his arms, wanting to be let down, before Itachi silences her.

"We're already here, just stay still." Sakura stiffens remarkably and in a few seconds, she's deposited onto her bed by a rather unaffected Itachi.

"Gomen, Itachi-san," she squeaks with a mild blush.

"It is fine," Itachi feels a familiar smirk make its way back to his face. "It was rather endearing how you tucked your head by my shoulder, Sakura-_chan,_" he teases. "I am honored, but I feel I must inform you that I have nothing but purely platonic feelings toward you."

She shoots up into a sitting position with a mortified look on her face. "I did that?" she whispers as loudly as one can and flushes further, praying that the bed will just suck her up right now.

Itachi makes his way to the door but looks back at her before leaving, smirk still in place, "Goodnight, Sakura." He leaves, closing the door behind him, knowing she's too stunned to give a proper reply.

She knows he's teasing her and making fun of her, but she can't help feel more than a little embarrassed. She actually cuddled up to _the _Uchiha Itachi; un-_freaking_-believable. She is suddenly very tired and collapses back into the soft, warm bed. She falls asleep as soon as her head touches the pillow and has a surprisingly pleasant sleep for the next few hours.

_The Next Morning_

Sakura wakes up the next morning feeling more rested than she has in the past week. She gets out of bed and picks out some clothes that Ino had brought her before going to find the washroom. She takes a nice warm shower and makes her way to the kitchen to find Mikoto preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, Mikoto-san," she greets upon entering the kitchen.

Mikoto turns around with a bright smile on her face which Sakura can't help but return. "Good morning Sakura-chan. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better, thank you. Do you need any help with breakfast?"

"Well, not necessarily, but it's always nice to have some company so you could just sit down if you wish."

Sakura nods and does as told, taking a seat at the dining table. She can't help but feel how painfully similar this is to how her mornings went when she didn't have any missions and she'd just stay in the kitchen with her mom. She was always cheerful like Mikoto and had the warmest hugs, which Sakura's sure Mikoto has too. Before she realizes it, her eyes are burning with unshed tears and she blinks rapidly to try to clear them. _'Don't cry,' _she repeats in her head, _'Just get over it.' _It sounds cold a heartless, but that's what she's going for. A ninja does not show emotion. Sakura feels her eyes starting to droop and fights to stay awake; her sleep last night may have been better than she's had in a while, but she still feels incredibly tired and worn out.

Itachi walks in soon after and greets his mother and Sakura. He makes his way to the fridge and gets out a carton of juice and milk and places it on the table by Sakura. He chances a glance at her and can't help but notice that she really doesn't look much better than she had yesterday. She offers him a small smile, but it makes her look so fragile. He nods to acknowledge her and turns away soon after, getting out plates and cups, preparing the table for breakfast.

"Oh, Sakura-chan!" Mikoto's unsurprisingly cheery voice calls from the stove, "I forgot to tell you, Sasuke said that the Hokage wants to see you this morning first thing." She's not really surprised, she expected to be called sooner or later, but that doesn't stop her from dreading this meeting.

"I will see you to the door," Itachi offers. Sakura nods and thanks him and they make their way through the maze that is the Uchiha compound.

"I can make it from here on my own, thank you, Itachi-san."

"You are welcome."

Sakura makes the appropriate hand signs and disappears in a whirl of cherry blossoms. Itachi catches one of the petals from her teleportation jutsu and notices that it is rather faded and nearly withering. It is no longer pink, but a pale off-white-almost-pink shade. He makes his way back to the kitchen to find that his family is waiting for him to start eating breakfast.

0-0-0

The majority of Sakura's day is spent in Tsunade's office, discussing the situation and how they should proceed. Tsunade had already ordered an investigation team to see if they could figure out who did it or if there were any clues as to why. Sakura thinks tiredly to a particularly interesting part of her meeting.

_-Flashback-_

"_This is all happening at a horrible time," Tsunade sighs and sinks into her chair. Sakura sits silently, waiting for her mentor to elaborate. "There's a mission I was going to send you on in a few days' time. It's S-class and there's a law that prevents anything less than ANBU status to take missions of this caliber and length. It took a lot of time, but I had finally convinced the council and elders to let you go. I'm not worried for your safety because I've taught you well and you can take care of yourself, but in the event that you can't, your partner is more than capable of protecting you. However, now that all of this has happened, I can't possibly ask you to leave." Her mentor sighs in irritation at the terrible timing before she continues._

"_That being said, I need your opinion on some other medic's I had picked out last night." Tsunade pulls out a few files and hands them to Sakura to read over. _

_Sakura takes a minute to process the new information. She's flattered that her mentor trusts her enough to let her take an S-class mission at Jounin level, which she's only reached less than a month ago, and she's excited at the chance to prove herself. Though she's not legally allowed to take the mission, she should be jumping at the opportunity, and she would be, had it been any other time but now. Like Tsunade said, she can't leave at a time like this. Her mother's funeral won't be for another week and the investigation isn't even finished yet. She weighs her choices in her head for a bit and after a few minutes, she makes a decision. She offers a silent apology to her mother, but she knows she'll understand. "I'll take the mission."_

_Tsunade looks at her apprentice strangely, "I'm sorry Sakura, but I can't ask you to do that. You have to stay here for a while until everything has calmed down."_

"_I appreciate your consideration, Tsunade-shishou, but I've made my decision. I want to take this mission, my mother would understand and I'm sure she'll forgive me. If you're worried about me being emotionally unstable, then let me assure you that I will not allow my emotions hinder me and I will perform my task to the best of my abilities." Sakura is resolute in her decision and after much convincing, Tsunade finally allows her to take the mission._

"_You've stayed here long enough; you are free to go home. The mission briefing will be tomorrow at six pm, and I'll let you know when we get some development in the investigation." _

"_Thank you, shishou. I'll be back tomorrow. Have a good evening."_

_-End Flashback-_

Sakura sits on the bed of her temporary room as she second guesses herself. Perhaps she shouldn't have taken the mission. She'd been eager to prove herself at the time, but now that she really takes the time to think about it, she's not so sure of herself anymore. She doesn't know if she can guarantee to be completely present during the mission. However, she's made her choice, and if Tsunade-shishou believes she can do it, then she'll do her best to prove her mentor right.

_The Next Day_

Itachi stands stoically in front of the Hokage's desk, patiently waiting for her instructions. "Do you remember the mission I gave about a year and a half ago having to do with rouge nin in Bird Country, Uchiha?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Then you remember that one of them got away, correct?"

" Hai. He was a missing nin from Konoha."

"Well, there have been several sightings of him since then. Rumor has it that he's become quite a ninja now and will be difficult to capture. His records in the Bingo Book are quite impressive. Your next mission will be to capture him. It is an extended mission and I'll be sending you with a medic; the briefing will be later this evening at six."

"Hai."

"But that's not why I called you here." Itachi waits silently for the Hokage to continue. He didn't think the Hokage would call him in just for that, that's what mission briefings are for. "I have matters to discuss…regarding Sakura." He doesn't know what he had expected from this meeting, but it certainly wasn't that. He isn't the best person to talk to when it comes to Sakura; sure they know each other and are on friendly terms, but that doesn't mean he knows everything about her. He would think that Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi would be better candidates for that. However, he remains quiet and listens to the Hokage. "I had originally intended Sakura to take this mission with you because you'll need a highly skilled medic for this mission, so she's your partner for this. However, I have another mission for you, on top of this one. Recent development on the investigation regarding her mother's murder revealed that it is highly likely that the same person killed her mother and father. We have reason to believe that she may be targeted next. I know she's a formidable ninja and can take care of herself, but so was her father and look what happened to him. If we believe that the same person killed both her father and mother, then we have to assume that she's next; I don't want to take any chances and I will take nothing less than the best. It works out that you two will be working together; in the event that Sakura does become targeted, your mission will be to act, in essence, as her bodyguard. This is not a lack of faith in her strength, don't get me wrong, but her father was ANBU and he was killed on the battlefield. I'm not saying that you should prevent her from fighting altogether, because that will really piss her off, but…well, just keep her safe, Uchiha." She finshes, looking more tired that he has seen her in a long time and the sigh that escapes her reflects her fatigue.

Itachi replies with his expected, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Very well, you're dismissed." Itachi makes his way to the door, but before he reaches it, he hears her speak. "Thank you, Itachi." He simply nods to acknowledge that he heard her and leaves the room silently.

0-0-0

Itachi and Sakura enter the briefing room together, waiting for their instructions from the Hokage. Sakura is more than surprised to find that she's been given a mission as _Uchiha Itachi's _partner, one of, if not _the _greatest and most efficient ninja in Konoha. She's flattered and amazed, but at the same time, she's equally scared and anxious; she doesn't want to make a fool of herself or hold him back on this mission, so she's going to have to be extremely careful in her actions. Itachi on the other hand was already aware who his partner is and is not surprised in the least when he sees Sakura enter the room.

Tsunade hands out the mission file to Itachi and Sakura as she begins explaining the details. "Hasegawa Kajou is your primary target. You have a total of five targets; their files have all been provided in the folder and you will need to incapacitate them and send them back to Konoha for investigation. The strategist team suggests the best way to carry out this mission is to take out the member of the team one by one. They will prove to be difficult opponents, so I expect you both to fight," she looks at Itachi pointedly, as if to remind him that he should still let Sakura fight, "together. They have migrated from Bird Country to the land of Snow. There is a small cottage there in Snow, though I've never seen it before, so I can't tell you what you'll need to bring and what is already provided there. You will stay there for the length of this mission, unless of course the target moves, then you will follow. You will be provided with funds for this mission for food, hotel fees if necessary, and any other expenses you may need. The five targets are involved in a steadily growing organization whose name has yet to be determined. If they are not stopped now, they will cause a problem to all of the nations, so while they are still at this stage, I need you disband them. The only ones I need alive are the five listed, everyone else must be eliminated. Though they haven't reached their highest potential, that doesn't mean they won't be extremely difficult and dangerous to disband, so be careful. They have all been located in the Land of Snow so, if all goes according to plan, you should be able to stay there. There are several headquarters littered about through Snow; the headquarters are somewhat like a housing facility so you don't need to worry about locating the members, they'll all be there. The approximate expected length is about eight to twelve months but you will be expected to report back every two months. When you return, I expect a full mission report and you will be permitted a stay of two days, should you need it, and after that, you'll return to the Land of Snow and continue the mission. Understood?" Itachi and Sakura nod their assent. "Very well, if you have no more questions, you are dismissed; you leave tomorrow at dawn, so get some sleep tonight."

The two leave the office together and make their way back to the compound.

"Ne, Itachi-san, I guess I should say this now…this is my first mission like this…so I apologize in advance if I slow you down or get in your way," Sakura looks down at the ground as she says this.

Itachi merely looks to the girl at his side, perplexed. He had assumed she'd stopped seeing herself in such a negative light long ago, but it appears as though he was wrong. "I am not worried about that."

Sakura smiles up at him but says nothing else. Although she's a bit worried and apprehensive about this mission, she's also excited. She's never been away from Konoha for this long and going on a mission like this makes her feel…somewhat special, for lack of a better word.

They stop by a few stores to pick up some stuff they'll need, such as clothes for Sakura, weapons, food rations, and much more. She's somewhat surprised that Itachi can carry on a conversation as long he has because they've been talking for a _long _time now, but she's pleased. In all their time together, they've never stayed together long enough to hold a conversation this long. It isn't awkward or strained in the least and she's inwardly hopes it'll be this way during the mission too.

When Sakura tells Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi about her mission and the details that aren't confidential, they nearly flip out. Well, Naruto flips out, Sasuke and Kakashi are a bit more subtle in their disapproval, but they voice it out either way. She reassures them that she'll be fine and she volunteered to take it, which only serves to displease them further. However, when she lets them know who her partner is, they relax a bit, knowing their little blossom will be protected by only the best, and Kakashi has a sneaking suspicion that the elder Uchiha has been given another mission, on top of the one Sakura tells them about. Since she's already accepted the mission, there's nothing the three men can do to persuade her to back out, so they settle for having dinner together.

0-0-0

The journey to Snow is tiring, for Sakura, but uneventful. They take very little breaks, and when they do, they're very short and only enough for Sakura to catch her breath and make the world stop spinning, then they're off again at insane speeds. Sakura keeps up with Itachi the entire time and doesn't complain, so Itachi assumes she's doing fine and doesn't need too many breaks. He's fairly impressed that at Jounin status, she's able to travel at ANBU level speeds. But then again, training under Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy Nin and the Hokage would do that to a person, he supposes.

They finally arrive at the designated cottage and Sakura is more than ready to pass out.

"Eh…this is it?" Sakura asks no one in particular when she sees the cottage. "Tsunade-shishou really meant small, didn't she?"

"Hn," Itachi proceeds to enter the small cottage. It is just one large room; there's a large bed of questionable cleanliness in the corner, the opposite side can hardly qualify as the kitchen, but it has a small fridge, a stove and a sink, and that's enough. There's a fireplace near the bed which seems large enough to warm the whole cottage and there are a few logs of wood off to the side ready to be used. The bathroom is off by the side and, like the rest of the cottage, is fairly small, just enough to fit a shower, a bathtub, a sink, and a toilet; all in all, it's not so bad.

"Well, it's not a mansion, but we'll survive. Could you start a fire, Itachi-san? I'll make some tea; I don't know about you, but I'm freezing."

"Very well," comes the expected reply.

Sakura spends the afternoon cleaning the cottage so they don't get sick from all the dust that's built up. While she's doing this, Itachi collects wood for the fire and looks around the Hidden Village there. Everything is slightly overpriced, but since they won't be using money from their own pockets, that should be fine. By late evening, Sakura's exhausted, even more than before, and is quite ready to turn in for the night, but there's one problem: there's only one bed. She and Itachi stare at it for a while, as if staring will magically make another one appear. They had both expected there to be two beds so neither brought anything to sleep on. If it didn't hinder their mission, Itachi would have offered her the bed, but that would mean he'd have to sleep on the floor. Such a thing would cause unnecessary muscle and joint pains which would cause problems if he were to get into a fight. Of course, being a medic nin, Sakura could easily fix this problem, but that would waste her chakra every morning because, as mundane a task as it is, it takes quite a bit of chakra to do properly.

If it had been a mission with Naruto, Sasuke, or Kakashi, it would be an unspoken agreement that they'd simply share the bed, but, even though she is fairly comfortably around Itachi, sharing the bed with him seems a little…awkward.

"We can share…" Sakura trails off hesitantly, "I mean…if that's okay with you"

"That is fine," Itachi tells her in his usual tone.

"'Kay," Sakura hates how her voice suddenly got higher and quieter, but she climbs into bed anyway. After a few minutes, she feels the bed dip, indicating that Itachi has climbed in after her. They share the warm, thick blanket and face away from each other. Sakura is unnaturally tense, but who wouldn't be? She's shared beds with men before, but those men happened to be her teammates—which Itachi is, but…it's still awkward—and the three most trusted men in her life. It's not that she doesn't trust Itachi, she's just not _this _comfortable with him. It takes a while, but Sakura finally relaxes enough to drift off into sleep.

Itachi feels Sakura's discomfort in the stiffness of her form and the unnaturally deep breathing coming from her direction, in what he assumes is an attempt to calm herself. He, himself, is quite uncomfortable as well, so he doesn't take her actions to offense. Having been raised to be the ninja he is, he was taught long ago not to rely on human comfort or contact, so even as a child, his mother had been forced to keep her physical contact to a minimum. Since then, he's had very little experience in sharing his personal space, so suddenly being put into this situation is…problematic. However, it is a mission, and he really has no other choice in the matter.

With that thought in mind, he closes his eyes and simply waits for sleep to overcome him.

0-0-0

TBC

Thank you for reading!

! I'd love your feedback on things like the details and the pace of it? But of course, any type of feedback is great!

Thank you for reading.

Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are highly appreciated :D


	3. Target

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Three: Target_

_Enjoy! (:_

"Shit," Sakura curses under her breath. She peels the bloody shirt from Itachi's chest to reveal a large, now-purpling gash across his chest running down to the middle of his stomach.

They'd finally taken on their first target after two weeks of observing him. Itachi had taken a nearly fatal hit because she'd been too slow and didn't realize the attack directed towards her until it was almost too late. Itachi had intercepted the attack, but had gotten hurt in the process. It wouldn't have been _this _bad if the wound had been treated right away, but the opponent was a persistent one and they fought for a long time after.

The target—Tanaka Masaru—had been training with some other rogue nin when they confronted him; Itachi challenged Masaru, leaving Sakura to deal with the four other shinobi that were present. They certainly were not at the level that Masaru was at, but they had kept Sakura's hands full for quite some time.

Their target had been much stronger than she had originally imagined, especially seeing as they managed to beat Itachi up this badly. But he wouldn't have gotten so beat up if she had just been stronger, or out of the way at the very least. If this one was just a subordinate of their primary target, she's slightly worried about what will happen when they face the more skilled opponents.

Sakura chides herself at her weakness and is tempted to slump away in a corner in embarrassment and disappointment but the large wound on her partner's chest keeps her from doing so. She takes a cloth soaked in warm water and gently washes the dried blood and grime from the wound, careful not to cause him any more pain. She immediately begins the healing process, her hands glowing warm green with chakra. It takes some time and a considerable amount of chakra from her already worn body, but she manages to heal Itachi's wound without leaving so much as a scar. She feels Itachi's chest drop in a sigh of what she assumes to be relief from his previous pain.

Sakura washes her hands and the bloody washcloth before returning to her partner's side to work on his less pressing injuries. The next one is a wound in his leg, caused by a katana that had been embedded there. She works Itachi's pants off of his hips, leaving him clad in silk gray boxers. She's seen enough naked men that such an action shouldn't affect her, but nonetheless, she blushes at the thought of undressing him and seeing him this way. Sakura shakes her thought away and focuses at the rather disturbing wound on her partner's right thigh. It's a wonder he was still able to walk. She draws upon chakra she wasn't aware that she had and heals the wound in a matter of minutes. It isn't healed as well as she would have liked, but Sakura wants nothing more than to go to sleep so she doesn't bother to finish it completely. The rest of Itachi's injuries are not as pressing and she decides that she can finish the job in the morning, when she's recovered her chakra.

Sakura scoots into bed beside her partner but freezes, feeling a jolt pain run through her left arm and left side. The numbing chakra she'd used is starting to dissipate, leaving the raw, blinding pain in its wake. Her breath starts to come in pants as the pain becomes too overwhelming and she feels her vision going blurry. She loses consciousness—thankfully, because she really doesn't want to have to endure the pain right now—but vaguely remembers strong arms tucking her into bed.

0-0-0

Itachi's wakes up blearily to the sound of heavy breathing somewhere by his side. His mind sluggishly registers that it's his partner and she's in some kind of pain, so he forces his eyes to open to see what the problem is. He sees her left arm is drenched in blood and she's clutching her side tightly. She promptly collapses beside him and he assumes that she passed out from the pain. Itachi wonders why she didn't heal herself, but he remembers his own wounds and, knowing Sakura, he's certain that she dealt with him before even thinking about her own injuries. He tucks her in as gently as he can, so as not to cause her any more pain, and he pushes some of his own chakra into her system to numb the pain.

Itachi stares up at the dark ceiling and falls into a meditative state. He's a little bit sore, but it's to be expected, seeing as he pushed himself far too hard to be healthy. But other than that, Sakura's done a fine job in fixing him up, especially since she was low on chakra to begin with. He realizes just why the Hokage had chosen her for this mission; these people are clearly not to be taken lightly and if every confrontation turns out the way this one had, well, he's just glad he has the Hokage's apprentice at his side.

_The Next Morning_

"How are you feeling, Itachi?" Sakura asks her partner the next morning after seeing to her injuries and the rest of his minor cuts and scrapes.

"Much better, you have my thanks," Itachi says, handing her a warm bowl of miso soup.

She accepts it gratefully and they settle down in front of the fireplace to enjoy the warmth it provides. "That's good to hear. Nothing's bothering you at all?"

"Not at all."

"I see," she says quietly, staring into her soup thoughtfully. Itachi studies her hunched profile, wondering what she's thinking so deeply about, but doesn't voice his question. Sakura can feel the weight of his gaze on her and she feels slightly flustered at the rapt attention.

They eat in relative silence for a while until Sakura sighs and looks at her partner. "Ne, Itachi…I just…wanted to apologize for—"

Itachi realizes what she's been so troubled about and shakes his head, effectively cutting her off. "There is nothing to apologize for," he reassures her

"It was my fault you got hurt though...If I'd just…" she looks off to the side uncertainly.

Itachi turns to face his troubled partner. "And you are the one responsible for healing me afterward."

"But still…"

"Things happen, I do not hold you responsible for what happened, nor do I think any less of your skills," he reassures her.

Sakura smiles, relieved that he isn't angry at her for and they resume eating breakfast, engaged in easy conversation. Itachi watches her with the same smoldering gaze that never fails to make her breath catch. He doesn't understand how she can bounce back between moods so often and so quickly. He keeps his gaze on her, as they talk, like she's some kind of puzzle or problem. Sakura tries her best not to show it, but the intensity of his gaze makes her feel slightly embarrassed, like if he stares at her long and hard enough, he'll see all of the imperfections that are infuriatingly absent on him. No one's ever stared at her like this and she can't help but fidget on the spot, though she tries her very best to act natural.

"Could you go lay down on the bed, Itachi?" she asks after they finish breakfast.

Itachi looks at her, eyebrow raised to signal his confusion. She's already healed his injuries, so why is she asking him to sit down?

"I just need to do a quick check up to make sure everything is alright inside you system."

"Very well," Itachi sits down as he takes off his shirt; he's done this enough times to know what to do without being asked.

Sakura turns around and, seeing him undressing, puts a hand to her mouth. "Oh, Itachi, I didn't know you wanted to do it _that _way, but I guess I can study you like that too." Sakura teases in a mock-flirt tone. They've gotten into the habit of teasing each other endlessly like this.

Itachi raises an eyebrow and smirks, "If you insist, Sakura. Though I don't believe my parents would approve of this, let alone Sasuke."

Sakura places her cool hands on his chest and laughs lightly, "Sasuke would have a heart attack, wouldn't he?" Itachi feels her warm chakra spread through his chest and extend to his whole body; it is a strange sensation…but he manages to endure it without letting on about his discomfort at such close proximity.

"Everything's working fine, but your eyes are a bit strained. I can help you with that if you're comfortable to let me probe a little to see what's going on."

Itachi tenses at the mention of his sharingan. It's a well-known fact around the Uchiha Compound how he got the Mangekyou, and an avoided topic.

A few years ago, Shisui, his closest friend and cousin, spoke to the clan elders and the Hokage before a particularly brutal mission. He asked for permission to die after this mission, at the hands of his cousin, and after talking it over for several hours and debating on it, the Hokage and elders finally agreed. They were all aware of the product of such an act, and who better to receive such a powerful tool than the clan heir and Konoha prodigy himself? Shisui had done a great service to Konoha and was more than ready to put his katana down, figuratively and literally. Of course, Itachi knew about none of this, else he would've blatantly refused and left the village on a long term mission so Shisui wouldn't get the chance to do it. The day he got back from his mission, Itachi was meditating in the gardens, at one in the morning.

_-Flashback-_

_"Itachi…" he hears someone call his name, though it's muffled by the sounds of gurgling blood. Itachi turns swiftly to see his cousin, half dead._

_"Shisui. What are you doing here? You should be at the hospital." Itachi is careful to keep his tone straight, but his eyes betray his concern for his cousin._

_"I'm dying, Itachi, and I'm okay with that. But I have a favor to ask."_

_"Anything." He takes his older cousin to sit on one of the many benches._

_"Kill me." The two words, merely whispered, echo throughout the garden clearly._

_Itachi takes a few seconds to register the request. "Excuse me?"_

_"You know what happens to the man who kills his closest friend. I'd like to think I'm your closest friend. Think of this as an early Christmas present."_

_Itachi wants to refuse in the most violent way possible, to shout at his cousin for even considering such a thing, to yell and demand he go to the hospital _now_. But that would be spitting on his sacrifice. "You know I cannot do that," he tells his cousin. _

_"Well why don't you think of it as ending my misery? This isn't very comfortable you know, but if you kill me now, I'll be free. I've spoken to the elders and the Hokage; they've all agreed to this Itachi, it's all on you now." Shisui offers his signature winning smile, but it's so heartbreakingly weak and Itachi can't help but wince inwardly at the pain this must be causing his elder cousin. "I'm tired, and I just want to rest; you can do that for me can't you?"_

_They sit in silence for a long time, as Itachi tries to find the best way to act in a situation like this. The only sounds to be heard are that of Shisui's labored breathing, running water, and the bamboo fountain. Itachi decides that it _would _be the best if he just listened to his cousin; after all he'd already said he'd do anything. Still, he can't help but feel the gut-wrenching pain in his chest that he's never felt before, not even the first time he'd killed a man._

_"Very well," he answers, almost too quiet to hear._

_Shisui looks up at Itachi with a smile, "I knew there was a reason you were my favorite."_

-_End Flashback-_

Shisui's death was announced as a 'casualty during the mission' though Itachi knew better. He's carried this burden on his shoulders since then, yes it's proven to be very useful in battle, but it's also incredibly painful after use and Itachi can do nothing but endure it and wait for the wave of painful after effects to pass. If this medic can maybe alleviate the pain from the Mangekyou Sharingan, then perhaps Itachi should let her.

"Very well."

Sakura grins in excitement at the opportunity to study and work on one of the great Kekkai Genkai. She tells him she can start tomorrow once her chakra's been refreshed and Itachi simply agrees.

0-0-0

Sakura grunts as she is ruthlessly thrown back into a nearby tree, knocking the breath from her body, leaving her momentarily stunned and unable to think. An instant later, Itachi is in front of her and makes a move to pin her to the tree, but she quickly evades him and moves a safe distance away. She is panting heavily and is extremely exhausted. She's just spent the last three hours acting as Itachi's moving punching bag and training dummy, which really isn't very fun…at all.

Itachi had offered to do some light training with her and they agreed it would only be taijutsu so they wouldn't use too much energy. _'Light training my ass,' _she snorts inwardly. Sakura looks up at her opponent to see that he hasn't even broken a sweat, nor is he breathing as heavily as her…not even close. It's even more difficult to train here in Snow because of all the ice on the ground. It takes a conscious effort on Sakura's part not to slip and fall on her face, and she feels mildly embarrassed at her lack of skill to do it effortlessly. However, she's mildly proud that she was able to get a few hits on him. Well, she'd gotten one good hit and he obviously hadn't expected it to be as hard as it had been. After that, she'd only got him with a few _almost-hit-barely-grazes, _but with enough chakra, she'd been able to inflict some damage, though he doesn't look to be in any pain at all.

_'Stupid Uchihas and their pride,' _Sakura thinks grumpily. Before she can blink, Itachi is right in front of her and she just barely manages to dodge the kick he throws to her side.

"You are losing focus," he tells her quietly as he throws a series of kicks and punches. She really can't get the breath or spare a thought to answer him seeing as she's currently occupied with trying _not _to get beaten to a pulp even further. Surprisingly, Sakura keeps up with him and they continue their dance-like exercise for a long time.

Sensing his partner's delayed responses, Itachi suggests that they should take a break. Sakura's muscles nearly sing at the idea of a rest and she collapses clumsily in the shade of a nearby tree. She can barely feel the bite of the cold anymore due to the exertion and she unzips her jacket halfway to let the cold air cool off her body, though she knows she'll probably get sick afterwards. Itachi goes to sit by her and lowers himself to the ground in an infinitely more graceful manner, but she really doesn't care right now. Itachi offers her a flask of cool water, which she accepts graciously and they sit in comfortable silence for a while, sitting side by side, but not quite touching.

"Are you planning on taking the ANBU exams once we return?" Itachi asks after a while.

"I'm not sure yet," Sakura answers, mildly surprised, "I haven't even been a Jounin for a year yet, plus…" she pauses thoughtfully, causing Itachi to look at her questioningly, "I'm not even sure I'd do very well."

"You should take it."

Sakura looks up at him. Did he really think she'd do well? He's really not the type of person to lie or say something that he doesn't mean. "You think I'd do okay?"

Itachi looks at her, but doesn't say anything for a while, as if he's formulating an acceptable answer. "I believe you would make it," he says finally.

This causes a huge grin to spread across Sakura's face. "Really?" Itachi nods. "Thanks, I'll think about it." Spirits temporary lifted, Sakura practically jumps to her feet and offers a hand to Itachi, "Back to it?"

He takes the hand offered to him and gets on his feet and flashes a quick smirk. "Remember, you asked for it," he tells her briefly before disappearing, leaving Sakura by herself.

She stands up straight and closes her eyes, listening intently for any signs of her partner. She knows he won't come at her from behind because that would simply be too easy, too predictable. Unless that's what he wants her to think…You can never tell what mind games Itachi's playing.

Sakura's eyes snap open and she senses a presence from above. She quickly moves away to dodge the blow aimed at her and throws her leg out in an attempt to catch him while he's still in the air. Unfortunately for her, Itachi anticipates this and deftly twists out of the way. He lands gracefully on all fours and swings a leg out to throw Sakura's balance. She jumps out of the way and quickly moves to her left, but Itachi's already there and jabs an elbow into her shoulder. She falls to the ground but immediately rolls out of the way of whatever he plans to throw at her.

They continue this way for a while longer until Itachi decides that Sakura's had enough for one day. He calls their training session to a halt and he and Sakura resume their places by the tree. It has started getting late—and chilly, Inner Sakura reminds—and Sakura's breath comes in short puffs of smoke.

Itachi examines the small kunoichi by him as she catches her breath. Her cheeks are flushed a healthy rose from both the cold and exertion, and, coupled with the red Rudolph nose, he can't help but find this slightly endearing. After catching their breath, they head back to the cabin.

"You are improving," Itachi comments.

"Thanks," Sakura beams, "its hard not to when I get pummeled nearly every day," she jokes. Itachi smirks but says nothing more. She watches her partner from the corner of her eye and can't help but feel slightly embarrassed. He offered to help her train and she complains about the severity of his methods regularly; of course, he never takes any offense, but Sakura feels she should be more grateful, and perhaps express her gratitude a little more.

"Ne, Itachi, I appreciate you helping me train and everything," she takes a bit of a pause. "And I'm sorry I complain so much," she says sheepishly.

Itachi allows a tiny smile to creep onto his face, though Sakura doesn't see it. "It is no problem to me."

Sakura flashes him a grin and declares that they should race back to the cabin. She gets a bit of a head start, but she loses to him nonetheless.

Itachi leans down and pokes her forehead lightly. "Too slow," he says in a smug tone.

"Yeah? Well you're…" she starts. Unable to think of a comeback, Sakura pouts and stick her tongue out at him childishly, which causes a smirk to creep up on Itachi's face.

_'Interesting,'_ he finds himself thinking.

0-0-0

Four weeks into their mission and so far, there has been no evidence that Sakura is being targeted. Itachi, however, being the ever-cautious person that he is, does not take any chances. He remains by Sakura's side nearly all the time, and when he isn't with her, they remain in contact through radio; however, this is a rare occurrence.

This would happen to be one of those rare occurrences; at the moment, they're currently searching for their next target in the forest and they've split up. It's been over three hours and they've yet to find him so Itachi calls her back via radio and they both make their way back to the little cottage.

_"I'm telling you, they're here somewhere," _Itachi hears voices speaking in hushed, frustrated tones.

_"Well where, idiot? We've been searching for hours and we haven't found anything!"_

Itachi follows the voices under the cover of the trees. He observes them, crouching on an obstructed branch. There are two men standing by a frozen river, obviously arguing. They look to be in their mid-twenties sporting forehead protectors that indicate they are rogue nins from Rain, though it's suspicious that they'd be this far out away from their own territory.

_"Let's just give this up, its freezing. We'll come back tomorrow."_

_"Just one more hour."_

_"Fine."_

Could it be that these men are searching for them and are after Sakura? Is this the threat the Tsunade-sama was telling him about? Just assessing them now though, they don't seem to be much of a threat, but then again, they could be working under someone. Itachi decides to watch and follow them a little longer to see what they want.

Sakura is more than a little frustrated at their lack of progress today, but she's happy she can finally go back to the warmth of the cabin and she happily makes her way back on Itachi's command. Along the way, she sees him crouched on a branch. Curious, she makes her way over to him to ask what he's doing. When she's near, he suddenly turns around swiftly and it somewhat startles her, making her lose balance.

Before any sound is made, Itachi grabs Sakura's waist and pulls her to him and pushes her back against the tree.

"Stay still and do not speak," he instructs her so silently that Sakura has to strain to hear him, but does as he says anyway. She doesn't know what's happening, but she trusts that Itachi knows what he's doing so she simply waits it out. Inner Sakura does her part to remind Sakura that she's deliciously pressed up to an equally delicious ANBU captain. She blushes and blocks Inner Sakura's blabbering, but it's too late, the damage is done. Sakura feels Itachi's warmth through both of their cloaks, his large hands on her back, and she can't help but lean her head forward—less than an inch, because yes, they're _that _close—to rest her forehead against his chest. She'd have to be blind not to see that he's unnaturally gorgeous and even though she is now an A-ranked kunoichi and medic nin—second only to the Hokage, she'd surpassed Shizune some months ago—she is still a teenager and her teenage hormones just won't let her forget it. Every time she heals his more severe injuries and he takes off his shirt, she has to fight down a blush at his chiseled muscles and fine physique. However, it's strictly physical attraction and there are no true feelings attached. She figures that as long as it stays that way, she's safe from any emotional damage.

The two men seem to have noticed a disturbance in the calm atmosphere and are suddenly on alert, searching their surroundings for anything that may pose as a danger. Sakura follows Itachi's gaze, and see two men who look like they're rogue nearby, in a small clearing on the ground. The two look off in the opposite direction suddenly, as if they'd just heard something and she sees Itachi running off in that direction—but wait, isn't Itachi in front of her? It strikes her that he probably sent off a clone, but when did he have time to do that? Well, just because she didn't notice, doesn't mean it wasn't possible. After all, Itachi's known how to make clones since he started at the Academy, and it only serves to show her how far apart they are in skill.

They stand there for a while longer in stock still silence and Sakura feels that simply breathing would disturb the stillness. She trusts Itachi's ability and relaxes a bit while, allowing herself to enjoy his embrace. Back when she was younger, after she'd gotten over her obsession with Sasuke, she secretly had a crush on his older brother. Whenever she went to his house, she'd talk to Itachi and although she was sure he thought of her as an immature nuisance, he was nothing but nice to her and kept her company when she sought him out, given that he wasn't busy, of course. Also, it didn't hurt that he's drop dead gorgeous. She'd gotten over the crush soon enough when she started working at the hospital and got Itachi as her patient. He was incredibly difficult, but then again, so was she. After about five or so 'visits' to the hospital, they'd started building an easy companionship and became rather good friends. He is still mildly awkward at times, and Sakura tends to make a fool of herself whenever that happens, but she enjoys his company either way. Anyway, she makes sure to remind herself not to let that immature crush come back because it would definitely hinder her during this mission.

Sakura is pulled out of her own little world at the sound of Itachi's voice, "They are gone." He steps away from her, to her mild dismay, taking his warmth with him.

"Who were they?" she asks curiously

"I'm not sure. They were searching for something, or someone." They start making their way back to the cabin at a relatively slow pace.

"Do you think they're after us?" For a second, Itachi wonders if Sakura suspects that she's in danger.

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, maybe they're from the organization and they know we're a threat or something?"

"I see, that is a possibility," he lies effortlessly.

Actually, no, it's not. Those two were much too weak to be part of an organization like the one they were to disband, but Itachi will let her think that for now, until he can figure out who or what they're really after.

"Are you hungry?" Sakura walks into the kitchen, deciding on what she should make for a late lunch.

"Hn." She doesn't know what that means, but he's already gone into the washroom so she can't ask. She decides to make him some food anyway, because it really isn't healthy to be skipping meals. No, she doesn't necessarily _care_…she just doesn't want to have to take care of his illness if he doesn't have a balanced diet.

_0-0-0_

Thank you for reading!

I realize the whole Shisui thing may be a little bit random and unrelated, but I just wanted to clarify that Itachi didn't murder his best friend (well, not really) just to get the Mangekyou Sharingan. I also didn't want to have Itachi not have it because really, he's just not Itachi without it.

If you have any requests regarding plot, then feel free to let me know and I'll see what I can do about sneaking it in there

_Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are highly appreciated loved :D_

~Ja!


	4. Of Impatience and Acceptance

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter 4: Of Impatience and Acceptance_

_Enjoy! (:_

Itachi makes sure to report to the Hokage about the previous incident considering the two suspicious nin as a possible threat to Sakura. She informs him of their progress in the investigation and he learns the name of the rogue nin who killed both of Sakura's parents. It seems that the man, Shizuma Takumi, had some unsettled rivalry between Sakura's father and himself. After being humiliated in front of his peers, Takumi had gone berserk and promised he'd get his revenge; this seemed to be his way in doing so.

Nonetheless, Itachi is still in charge of Sakura's safety and he takes full responsibility for it. As long as he can help it, he promises the Hokage, Sakura will remain safe.

About seven weeks into the mission, Sakura begins to get slightly disheartened. "Are we really going to get this done by just taking them out one by one?" she asks her partner over lunch one afternoon.

"We only have to continue this way until we've captured our designated targets. After that, we will find a way to eliminate the rest of the shinobi in a faster, more efficient manner," Itachi informs her.

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

"We can decide on a method when the time comes."

"…Alright then, if you say so."

"I have been thinking," Itachi starts, "It would be easier to find information on the organization and our targets if we work from the inside."

"You mean like a spy?" Sakura asks, genuinely interested.

"In essence, yes."

"That would be easier, sure. But how do we get in?"

"There is a bartender at the Blue Moon Pub in Yukigakure who is a part of the organization. They are recruiting new members and he is one of the appointed scouts," Itachi explains.

"Just out of curiosity, how do you know all of this?"

Itachi smirks at her. "As you said before, I know everything, Sakura."

"Hm, I don't even want to know. Anyway, how would we get in? They'd have to approach us right? It would be kind of suspicious if we knew about it and wanted to get in."

"Aa. Somehow, we will need to show them our skills."

"We could somehow start a bar fight, that's always easy to do, especially with a whole bunch of drunk people," Sakura says somewhat detachedly, as if thinking back to a previous memory. "Well the only time I ever got into a bar fight," she starts, causing Itachi raise an eyebrow, "I was on a date. Some jerk tried to feel me up and Neji got mad...and well, it didn't end very well for the drunk guy." Itachi recalls a time period when he'd seen Sakura around the Hyuuga more often than not, but he never inquired about her personal relationship so he'd never been sure if they were together or not. He wonders if she is still attached to this Hyuuga, though he doesn't seem to see them together as often.

They fall silent for a while, trying to think of another way to start a bar fight without being too obvious in their intentions.

"We could pretend to be drunk, like, _really _drunk and just start beating people up," Sakura suggests after a while.

Itachi looks at her nonplussed, his eyes telling her that getting drunk is beneath him.

She grins sheepishly at him, "Hey, it was just a suggestion." They fall silent once more, before Sakura speaks up again. "Well, I'm out of ideas, what about you?"

"Your first idea seems plausible," he replies.

Sakura's first reaction is to stare at him. "Like…us two?"

Itachi raises an eyebrow at her. "Is that a problem?"

"N-no," she hates how her voice got higher and she's suddenly stuttering. Forcing herself to calm down and reminding herself that it's just a mission, she replies, "That should be fine. When are we going?"

"Tonight is as good a time as any."

"Well in that case, I need to go shopping. I didn't bring anything that's even remotely sexy."

"Thank you for sharing," Itachi deadpans.

Sakura simply grins sheepishly, "Wanna come? I can just change somewhere there and we can go straight to the bar."

"Very well," he says after a while.

"Great, let me go get ready then."

"Hn."

Sakura gets up from her spot at the table and makes her way to the little cabinet in the corner to get some money. She still can't get over the fact that she's going on a date with _Uchiha Itachi, _one of the most sought after men in Konoha. Granted, it's for a mission, but still, technicalities like that can be easily overlooked. She tells herself that she is excited only because she hasn't been out in so long and it's nice to go out, and with the added bonus that her escort happens to be drop dead gorgeous. There are no emotions, feelings, or anything of the like attached to this evening.

_Later that evening_

After placing a feasible henge on themselves, Itachi and Sakura make their way to the bar Itachi had previously mentioned.

They stop in front of a building with questionable sanitary standards. "Is this the place?" the pink-haired medic asks her partner.

Itachi nods once. "It is. Shall we?" he offers her his arm like a gentleman. Sakura fights to hide her blush as she takes Itachi's arm and he leads her into the pub.

_'Just a mission,' _she reminds herself.

The inside looks much better than the outside, thankfully. There are many tables on one side, all of which look fairly clean and stable, and in the middle, there's a dance floor full of people pressed too close together. Itachi takes them to the counter and they sit down, waiting to be served.

"Hey, Itachi, can I drink?" Sakura asks, looking up at her partner, throwing him her best puppy dog eye look—one that had even gotten Sasuke to relent and give her the last dango.

"No," he says simply.

She tilts her head to the side and gives him her best doggy pout, "Awh, why not? No one will know."

"Tsunade-sama asked me to take care of you; I hardly think letting you drink underage would be fulfilling her request."

Sakura deflates, knowing that once he decides on something, his mind can't be changed.

"What can I get you?" a man behind the counter asks, eyeing Sakura for a moment longer than necessary

Itachi's eyes narrow and a wave of irritation passes through him for reasons he can't quite explain. "Sake for one," he says, betraying none of his displeasure.

"Was that him?" the petite kunoichi asks when the bartender leaves.

"It was not."

Itachi's drink is served in a matter of minutes, but he simply stares at it.

"You gonna drink that?" Sakura raises an eyebrow at him.

He simply shakes his head in response.

"Then why'd you order it?"

"They would have asked us to leave if we simply loitered here."

"Well in that case, I can take that off your hands," she suggests sweetly.

Itachi turns to her then with a smirk on his face, clearly amused at her persistence. The look in his eye seems to tell her that she should know better.

"Yeah, yeah, underage, I know. It was worth a try," Sakura murmurs.

The bartender returns asking if they need anything else and Itachi refuses in a low tone that Sakura knows to be his irritated tone.

"Very well then," the bartender says, completely oblivious to Itachi's displeasure. He turns to Sakura with a mischievous and slightly menacing glint in his eye. "Why aren't you there dancing, little lady?" he asks, leaning an arm on the counter.

Sakura, very aware of his intentions, shifts uncomfortably in her seat. "I'm not really in the dancing mood," she offers, trying her best to hide her discomfort.

The bartender raises an eyebrow at this. "No? Perhaps we can put you in the mood," he says in a blatantly suggestive tone.

At this, she hears Itachi growl at her side and she feels him sling an arm around the back of her chair. A part of Sakura jumps at the thought that Itachi's getting possessive of her, but then she realizes that he's only playing the part as her date, and it would be suspicious if he just lets another man flirt with his date. Sakura wilts at the thought. Wait a second, why is she getting so excited in the first place? She doesn't even _like _him for goodness sake! She inwardly sighs and reminds herself _not _to get attached.

"No thank you," she says after a while.

"Alright then, if you need anything," he says, "don't hesitate to call for me."

He leaves soon enough but Sakura belatedly realizes that Itachi's arm is still on the back of her chair. Inner Sakura grins madly, but she's quick to remind her inner that she only thinks of him as her supremely hot partner and friend, _nothing_ more.

"So how long are we going to be here for?" Sakura looks up at her partner.

"We will have to wait until someone until someone has the nerve to put his hands on you."

That sounds so incredibly awkward, especially coming from Itachi, that Sakura's face twists to make a sour face at the mental image of it. "The thought of that is just so disturbing…"

Itachi smirks down at her. "Are you saying you are afraid?"

Sakura knows a challenge when she hears one, and that sounds suspiciously like one. "Did I say that, Uchiha?"

"Very well then," he says, signature smirk still in place.

They talk for a while longer until a rowdy group of men, around Itachi's age, enter the bar and make their way over to where they are seated. Itachi glances at them from the corner of his eye, but other than that, pays them no more attention. He simply continues his conversation with Sakura.

"Hey cutie," one decidedly drunk man slurs. The two stand from their chairs and turn to face the drunken group and she feels Itachi wrap an arm around her waist and pull her to his chest. She takes a second to relish in his warmth, but shakes the thought away almost immediately.

'_He's just playing his role,' _she reminds herself. '_Don't get any ideas.'_

"Why don't we go for a little dance?" the man asks. "Since you're just sitting here anyway, I'm sure your friend won't mind it if we take you off his hands for a while." He laughs crudely as if he had just made a clever joke and his friends join along.

"No thanks," Sakura replies uninterested.

"I don't think you understand, cutie. It's not a question." The group of men crowd around them in what is supposed to be a menacing manner. One of them men grab for Sakura but Itachi easily hits the hand away.

"I believe she said she is not interested," he says calmly.

"Well, _I don't believe _I was talking to you," the man says to Itachi, clearly challenging him. He makes another grab for Sakura but Itachi grabs his hand easily and crushes it with enough force to break a few bones. A sickening crack is heard followed by a cry of pain as Itachi releases the man's hand, which is yanked away violently the second it's free. He clearly didn't expect such strength from a man who appears to be a civilian, since the pair had made sure to hide their Leaf forehead protectors.

With a cry similar to that of a battle cry, the drunken pack of men lunge at Itachi and Sakura, the latter being slightly surprised that the men are fairly skilled ninja. It works out, however, since they really can't showcase their skills while fighting a bunch of civilians. Six men dive towards Itachi while the remaining four lunge for Sakura. She takes half a second to feel insulted that they would underestimate her that way, but brushes it off, deciding to teach them a lesson about judging by appearances.

Sakura easily dodges the several misguided punches from her drunken opponents, easily breaking a few bones when she spots an opening. She maneuvers through the many tables, careful not to cause too much damage to the place in the rush. The gloves come off and her opponents throw weapons in her direction, ranging from simple shuriken, to some more intricately designed throwing knives, similar to a kunai. She manages to dodge the ones that would have been fatal but she takes a few hits on her arm. The pinkette dislodges the intruding pieces of metal from her person and throws them back at her opponents, successfully knocking one out cold. The remaining three lunge for her at the same time and she manages to twist out of their grasp, landing a sound kick in one of the men's kidney. She hears a satisfying grunt and hits several pressure points, knocking another one out cold. Sakura turns to face her two opponents with a triumphant smirk on her face. _'That'll teach them,' _Inner Sakura chimes out, clearly excited. She deals with the two remaining ones easily, though she makes sure to stretch out her time and tries to show off in case the recruit may be watching her. Itachi seems to be having an easy time as well, having knocked his opponents out in a matter of minutes, though he isn't quite as showy as Sakura is.

Twin silver eyes peek out from behind the curtain of the bar as they watch the duo effortlessly take out the rowdy group of men who frequent the establishment and often make a ruckus. These two nin, who appear to be unattached to a particular village, catch the attention of the owner of the silver eyes. Said owner slinks back into the darkness to report his findings to his direct superior.

As soon as the fight is over, Sakura looks to Itachi for further instructions. He simply motions for them to leave the establishment. She follows his wordless instructions without complaint and only when they are a safe distance away from the bar does Itachi speak. "All we can do now is wait for them to seek us out. We will need to spend more time in the village to give them a chance to find us."

Sakura nods in agreement, "That makes sense. You know, that was actually pretty fun. I haven't had an easy fight like that in a long time, and it feels good to win so easily. Don't you agree?" Sakura grins up at her partner, who simply looks down at her with an eyebrow raised.

"If there is no challenge, then there is no satisfaction in victory," he returns easily.

"Well," she huffs in indignation, "_I _had a good time."

Itachi chooses not to reply, only gives her his signature smirk, and they continue their way back to the cabin in comfortable silence.

The two continue with their mission as they normally would, waiting for a response from the organization. Since then, they've taken out three more nin, though they were only subordinates of one of their targets. Sakura notices that they seem to be increasingly more difficult to defeat and they are left with more injuries every time. She starts to get impatient at their pace, but Itachi reminds her that they must do this properly, which means she just has to be patient. She sighs in agreement and calms herself down before absently saying that she's going to bed. She's tired and simply wants a good night's sleep, something she's been denied recently. Hopefully, this time she'll be able to sleep peacefully.

0-0-0

Sakura shoots up in bed in a cold sweat and finds that she's alone in the small makeshift home. Itachi must be outside training or meditating again as he tends to do sometimes. She sighs, clearly tired. This has been happening more and more frequently these past two weeks. One particular opponent they faced was extremely proficient in genjutsu and Sakura had gotten caught in a gruesome, disturbing illusion. She's always excelled in genjutsu so she had been able to break free from it soon enough, but she's been having increasingly disturbing dreams every night since then and she's been losing sleep. She would be lying if she said that her mother's death has long since stopped disturbing her in any way, and Sakura is not one to lie to herself easily. The emotional stress brought on by that incident over two months ago is only emphasized by these recent dreams of losing the people she cares about. Of course, being on a mission doesn't leave much time to relax her mind and soothe her frayed nerves, leaving her spread far too thin and she is dangerously close to a breaking point. Sakura takes a minute to catch her breath and stop her body from shaking before laying back down and trying to go back to sleep; it's nearly dawn and she's sure she can fit in another hour or two of sleep before she has to get up again.

No matter how she twists and turns, however, she can't get back to sleep and the images of her dream keep playing in her mind. She figures that maybe just being in Itachi's presence will help calm her down as it usually does, but she debates whether or not she should go to him, for fear of disturbing him. Itachi's been nothing but kind to her though, and she's fairly certain that he won't mind if she just goes to him, he won't even have to talk to her. With this thought in mind, she gets out of bed, puts a cloak and shoes on, and goes outside in search of her partner.

She finds him standing on the ledge of the small mountain by their cottage, simply staring out, awaiting the dawn. She steps forward and she's sure he hears her but says nothing to acknowledge he knows she's there. She stands behind him, fiddling with her hands and staring at the ground between them. If it were Naruto or Kakashi hell, even Sasuke, this would have been alright, but none of them are here and she just needs someone, so she fearlessly wraps her arms around Itachi, hoping he'll just stand there and let her for a while. She buries her face in his back and stands for a few moments.

To say Itachi is mildly surprised would be a sever understatement. Such openly affectionate contact is incredibly startling and mildly uncomfortable and he nearly flinches away from the petite kunoichi currently clinging on to him. However, something tells him she has a good reason for doing so. He's noticed how she's been tired recently and the bags under her eyes have been slowly getting more and more prominent. Itachi assumes that her actions now are somehow affected by that. He doesn't know what to do in this kind of situation so he waits for her to calm down.

"Sakura," he calls gently, careful not to frighten her. He gently pries her arms from his waist, which proves to be a bit more difficult than he thought. She steps away quickly, apologizing and looks at the ground between them. Their easy friendship and functional partnership has now been effectively ruined, she's sure, because she just couldn't keep her damn fears and emotions under reigns. She's fairly certain that Itachi hates weakness like this and now thinks of her as a weak little girl who doesn't deserve to be on a mission with him.

He steps forward and wraps his arms around her petite waist carefully, if not a little awkwardly at first, pulling her to his chest. Sakura's eyes widen, completely in shock for a few seconds before wrapping her arms around Itachi and tucking her face in his chest. It still surprises her how much taller he is than her; the top of her head just barely reaches his shoulder. She breathes in his masculine scent which helps calm her nerves, as his calm atmosphere does. She listens to the steady beat of his heart and forces her heart do the same. She had fully expected an embrace from Itachi to be stiff, rigid and awkward, but it's quite the opposite really. He is comfortably warm and his arms wrap around her gently, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"Thank you," she mumbles into his chest.

Itachi lets a ghost of a smile creep onto his face as he continues rubbing small circles on the petite kunoichi's back. Since Shisui, he's never let anyone close enough to be the friend his older cousin was, but perhaps, he can find that friend in this young kunoichi. He doesn't know for sure, but he's willing to try, because though he won't admit it out loud, he misses Shisui, and he knows that this small girl in his arms will be more than enough to ease his loneliness.

A/N:

_Thank you for reading!_

This chapter was a killer to write. It just didn't want to get done! But here it is, I hope you liked it. Let me know!

Umm…the whole ending part may feel a bit random, but I've been getting requests for more fluff, so I tried to sneak something in there.

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

_Hope you enjoyed!_

~Ja!


	5. Sick and Tired

**_Beyond Words_**

_Chapter Five: Sick and Tired_

_Enjoy! (:_

_-_

Sakura comes into the cabin after a particularly tiring day of training. Itachi had something else to do, which he didn't feel the need to fill her in about, and offered a few of his bunshins for her to train with. She had thought it wouldn't be nearly as tiring as the normal Itachi usually is, but she was sorely mistaken, and she has the bruises to show for it. Plus, she isn't in the greatest state mentally because she's been awfully disappointed at their lack of progress regarding the infiltration of the organization. They have not once been contacted for any purpose, but Itachi always tells her to be patient, because eventually, something will happen. She sees her partner in a meditative pose on the bed as she enters and, despite her exhaustion, smiles at him. It's nice to come back to a place where there's someone waiting for you. She doesn't think of it as married or engaged in a relationship, but after the entire ordeal with her mom and feeling so lonely, it's just…_nice. _

Itachi opens his eyes and regards her with a slight nod of his head, "Good evening, Sakura."

Despite their constant teasing, making fun, and toying with each other, Itachi remains unfailingly polite. "Good evening, Itachi," she greets, removing her cloak in the process. "Are you hungry?"

"Not particularly," he admits as he uncrosses his legs and sits on the edge of the bed.

She raises her eyebrow at his vague answer. Does that mean she should cook for two, or for one? "When's the last time you ate?"

He takes a second or two to recall his last meal. "This morning. I had an early brunch before I left."

"I see, sukiyaki for two then?"

Itachi nods his head minutely, "Very well."

As Sakura is preparing the food, she starts to feel incredibly cold and wonders if maybe Itachi forgot to light the fireplace. She checks the fireplace to see that there's a large, healthy fire burning there so she dismisses the chill in her bones, hoping she'll warm up soon.

Itachi walks into the small kitchen area to see if Sakura needs any help, only to find that she's already finished. She hands him a warm bowl of soup and they walk over to sit by the fireplace and enjoy the heat. He watches his partner and notices that something's rather off about her. She's paler than usual and her lips have taken a slight blue tint. "You are shaking," he comments

She brings the warm bowl closer to her and cradles it in her hands. "Yeah, I'm kind of cold, aren't you cold? It's freezing!" Sakura begins to rant pointlessly and repetitively and her teeth begin to chatter.

"Sakura, what is the matter? Are you sick?" To be honest, Itachi is a little worried, because if Sakura is sick, he wouldn't know what to do, since he never really gets sick too much and when he _does_ happen to get sick, there's someone else there to take care of him. Besides, if Sakura actually is sick, she'd have healed herself already, and it worries him that she hasn't yet.

"Honestly, I—I don't even know," She blows on her hands in attempt to warm them up. "I just started getting really cold, a—and I feel like there's a chill deep in my bones. I—I thought it would go away eventually, but it hasn't, and I'm j—just _really _cold."

Itachi takes the bowl from her for fear of her spilling it and puts a hand to her forehead. She's not burning, like she would be if she had a fever, but instead, she's freezing. He puts his hands on her arms to find that she's freezing there too. "Have you checked your system?"

Sakura nods, "There was nothing out of the ordinary." She's sitting close enough to Itachi to feel his body heat radiating from him and decides that maybe he won't mind if she leaned on him for a while. She drops her head to rest on his shoulder and immediately feels relief at his warmth, even if it's only against a small part of her. He looks down at the shaking kunoichi at his side. She's now shaking uncontrollably and he's worried that if she were to fall asleep, she may not wake up; he'd read that in a book somewhere when he was a child. He tries to think back to any books he may have read that would tell him what's wrong with Sakura, but he's drawing a blank.

Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Itachi picks Sakura up and carries her to the bed. She doesn't protest and simply enjoys his warmth against her side, which is a clear indication that she's not in her right mind, because Sakura's always been a headstrong, highly independent individual who would not stand to be carried anywhere.

Itachi places her on the bed and adds a few more logs to the fireplace before climbing into bed with Sakura. He's never been a big fan of physical contact, especially as intimate as this, but she needs help and he doesn't know what else he can do. He remembers from his training that sharing body heat is the best way to warm up and conserve heat. He pulls Sakura to his chest, faces her back to the fireplace, and wraps the heavy blanket around them both and she sighs contentedly in his arms.

"Ne, 'tachi," Sakura mumbles sleepily. "It's not fair," she yawns, "how you're so warm…" He's warm, yes, but it's not enough, she's still trembling and craves some kind of heat. She's so tired and cold and she clearly not in her right mind, else she would not have done what she's about to do. She entangles her legs with his and slips her hands under his shirt, craving skin on skin contact. She rests them just under the hem of his shirt, on his firm stomach.

The sudden contact causes Itachi to stiffen. Her hands are so cold against his stomach and he suddenly feels too close to her. Her hands, her legs, her scent remind him that he's only a man and she's a woman. He knows that this isn't a good time to be feeling this, but he can't help what his body tells him. He focuses on something else and the woman in his arms shaking helps bring him back to reality. Right now she needs him and he needs to just get over this. She's pulled him from certain death more times than he can count, and now he can pay her back.

Her body temperature has stopped dropping, but it hasn't gotten any warmer either. "Mmm…so warm…" She yawns and closes her eyes tiredly.

"Do not sleep, Sakura."

"I'm not, I'm just resting my eyes."

Itachi tightens his grip on her and runs chakra warmed fingers through her hair and down her back. "Very well, keep talking."

"About what?"

"Anything you wish to speak about."

She's silent for a while and Itachi thinks she's fallen asleep, but then she starts telling him a story. "When I was nine years old," she begins, mumbling into his chest, "I remember wandering off into the woods because there was a bunny I wanted to play with." She pauses to yawn widely. "Eventually I lost it, but I heard the sound of someone training and I wanted to go see. I saw you, training with a bunshin by the river; I thought you were so cool, and I was content to simply watch you for a while. You looked over to me and told me to come out, so I did and you asked me what I was doing. To tell you the truth, I was pretty embarrassed to be caught staring, but you let me stay and watch for a while, then you stopped to eat lunch and you talked to me. I knew you were Sasuke's older brother and I was kind of jealous of him, because he had such a nice, cool, strong older brother." Itachi smiles slightly at her praise and she nuzzles her head against him, breathing out a tired sigh. "I decided that if I married Sasuke, then you'd be my nii-san too, even if it's only in-law. I'd always wanted a sibling; rather a younger sister or an older brother…or both, and it would be perfect if you were my older brother." Sakura takes a bit of a pause before speaking again, "You know, I've never thought about it before, but now that I do, that may be how my obsession started." Sakura laughs lightly, despite her apparent chill, "Sasuke can thank you for that." Itachi recalls this particular encounter, though he's never thought anything of it before. Sakura has always been a rather strange one, even back then. She wasn't afraid of him when most of the younger children feared just his name. "Anyway, I didn't see much of you after that, and I guess I kind of forgot about it…" She trails off and yawns again.

"Do not sleep," Itachi says quietly after a few moments of silence.

"Mmm…I'm not. Ne, 'tachi, don't you miss Konoha? I know we were just there for the report and all, but I just really miss everyone there." Sakura is silent for a while and when she speaks again, her voice isn't trembling as much as it was, but it sounds raw and coarse, "You know what else? I miss them, my parents, I mean."

Itachi has not once heard Sakura talk about her parents, even when her father had died and he recalls seeing her in the hospital, working immediately after her father's death. Now that she _has_ mentioned them, however, he can't help but notice the change of tone. A distant part of Itachi's mind realizes that, being raised in a family that doesn't have a history of being ninja, she's probably still very attached to her emotions, since she wasn't taught formally to shut them out at a young age as he was. However, despite this, Sakura's done an exceptional job at hiding her pain, though he can still see the subtle cringe of her jaw, the tightening of her knuckles, and the tension in her posture when it comes to dealing with these things.

"What do you think they're doing right now?" she asks, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Watching over you, perhaps." He's never taken the time to really think about these kinds of things, but he answers honestly.

"Hmm…that would be nice." She nuzzles closer to him, yawning once more. "I'm tired, 'tachi."

He notices that her body temperature has begun rising again. Although it may not be the regular body temperature, it's much better than it was before, and perhaps sleeping will help regulate her system, so he decides that it will probably be fine if she sleeps now. "Very well, go to sleep."

"Alright then," she says, somewhat slurred, "G'night."

"Good night, Sakura." His voice is barely above a whisper, but Sakura hears it loud and clear.

Itachi looks down at the petite kunoichi breathing deeply in his arms. He thinks back and tries to recall anything out of the ordinary when something may have infected her system or caused her to get sick. He can't think of anything that's happened, but there's always the possibility that something had happened when he wasn't with her. He chides himself for having let his guard down. He should never have let her leave on her own. However, what's done is done and he can only learn from his mistakes now. He knows that Sakura wouldn't appreciate being watched like a hawk, but he'll have to watch her a bit more closely from now on. All he can do now is hope she'll get better soon.

-

The next morning, Itachi wakes up and the first thing he notices is that Sakura is no longer ice cold as she was last night. Quite the opposite really, now she's burning up with a fever. She stirs in his arms, but makes no indication that she's awake, or plans to wake up any time soon. Since his heat is no longer needed, Itachi carefully extricates himself from Sakura. He makes his way to the washroom to get a cloth and soak it in cold water and places it on Sakura's forehead in hopes of bringing her fever down. It's quite ironic really, mere hours ago, he was fighting to keep her warm, and now there is a cold cloth on her head to bring her body temperature down.

It doesn't seem that they'll be going outside today so Itachi sets a genjutsu barrier that obstructs the cottage, just in case those two men come searching for them. He rebuilds the fire before going off into the kitchen to make some breakfast. He stands in the middle of their makeshift kitchen, looking a little lost; he's never had to _cook _anything before. He's relied on food rations or his mother's home cooked meals, so the idea of cooking something himself is more than a little foreign. Well, there's a first for everything, and for Itachi, this will be his first time cooking. Predictably enough, the breakfast turns out perfectly, just like everything Uchiha Itachi sets out to do. Had Sakura been awake, she'd be mumbling something along the lines of _'It's not fair that you're so perfect your first time and I took almost a full year to learn to make onigiri properly.' _

Itachi brings both plates to the bed and place them on a nearby table. "Sakura," he calls softly, "You should eat something."

Being the light sleeper she is, Sakura stirs and opens her eyes blearily. She blinks a few times before finally focusing on Itachi. "Mmm, smells good," she croaks out, her voice still laced with remnants of sleep. She tries to get up, only to fall back miserably on the bed.

"You need to eat something."

She shakes her head and buries her head in the soft pillow somewhat akin to a pouting child which, Itachi detachedly thinks, is only slightly endearing…_slightly _being the key word here. He sits on the edge of the bed and gently helps her sit up. Grudgingly, Sakura complies and manages to stay upright on her own. Itachi deposits a delicious looking and smelling plate of food on her lap and she looks at it longingly. As mouthwatering as it is, Sakura doesn't think she has the stomach to keep it all down right now, and she knows that it'll all taste bland because being sick will do that to a person. Still, Sakura eats it, knowing that it will only be insulting if she refuses to. After breakfast, Sakura is suddenly exhausted and falls back onto the bed. The cloth on her forehead is replaced with a fresh, cool one and Sakura sighs at the refreshing sensation.

"Go back to sleep, Sakura," Itachi instructs, distantly wondering if this is how his mother felt whenever she took care of Sasuke and him when they were young.

"Mmkay." Sakura falls asleep almost immediately.

Itachi sits by the bed and, finding nothing better to do that wouldn't take him away from Sakura, starts reading a little black book that he found on the bookshelf in the cottage. He passes the day at his partner's side, changing the cloth when it is no longer cool and waking her up to eat at the appropriate times. In the late afternoon, Itachi recalls something his mother had told him when he was young. She'd said it helped with a fever if the person takes a bath. He decides that it's worth a try and wakes Sakura up to take her to the washroom; it takes a bit of convincing, but he finally gets her out of bed. She leans against him and relies heavily on him for support on her way to the washroom. While she's taking a bath, Itachi begins preparing an early dinner and finishes by the time he hears her come out of the bathroom. She makes her way back to the bed herself and collapses on it as soon as she gets there.

"Sakura, do not sleep yet. You've yet to have dinner." Itachi can't help but feel somewhat like a parent, but he does what needs to be done.

"I'm not hungry," Sakura mumbles.

"I know, but you need to eat."

"You know Itachi," she murmurs somewhat distantly, "you'd make a good dad."

This statement catches him off guard and he tenses slightly. He's certain she won't remember saying it when she's better again, but it sets him slightly on edge. He's never thought of having a family of his own before. It's always been a given that he'll have one someday because he's the heir and he needs to produce offspring to take his place. Even still, he avoids thinking of things of that nature.

"Did the bath help?" he asks, steering their conversation in a different direction.

"Mhmm."

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel just _great,_" Sakura doesn't really know what she's saying anymore, but she's forced to sit up and focus as Itachi hands her some food.

After dinner, Sakura lies back in bed but finds that she isn't as tired as she was before, so she turns to her partner for company.

"I'm sorry I'm putting you through this."

"There is no need to apologize."

"Alright then, if you way so…"

"Do you recall any instances when you have been exposed to anything suspicious, or anything that may have caused you to feel this way?"

Although she's not tired anymore, Sakura's mind is still hazy and she can't seem to focus on anything. "Not that I know of, no."

"Very well."

Itachi keeps Sakura company and they engage in easy conversation for a few hours until Sakura starts to feel tired again. He notices that she's started shaking again, and checks to see if she still has a fever. It seems her body can't seem to find balance and jumps between the two extremes of hot and cold. Sakura has returned to the state she was in yesterday and is shaking uncontrollably again.

"Ne, Itachi, did you put wood in the fireplace?" Sakura asks through chattering teeth

"Yes, I did."

"It's really cold." Her eyes are closed and she's so tired, but she can't seem to find peace in sleep. Itachi removes the cloth from her forehead and wraps the blanket around her more tightly. His hand brushes her arm while doing so and he feels the ice cold skin there. He goes to the fireplace to add more logs then turns his attention back to Sakura, debating whether he should make her some tea, some soup, or just climb into bed and hold her as he did the previous night. The last choice doesn't seem too appealing, because contact of that nature and level of intimacy still sets him slightly on edge. He's read a book before saying that that's the best way to transfer heat, and he doesn't think anything else will work very well; he simply mulls over his choices uncertainly. However, his mind is made up for him when Sakura looks up and reaches out for him. She reminds him so much of a young child when she's this way, looking so lost and he feels compelled to do everything he can to help her. He lifts the covers and lies down beside her, pulling her close to his chest once more. She instinctively tucks herself into his chest and fists her deceptively small hands in his shirt. He runs his chakra-warmed fingers through her hair, something that he's come to realize brings him some form of comfort.

"Ne, 'tachi," Sakura mumbles, "Are you going to sleep yet?"

"No, I am not," he replies quietly.

Sakura hums against his chest, though he isn't sure what that means. "I was talking to Ino before we left," she says after some time. "She asked me something."

He waits for her to elaborate, but when she says nothing, he decides to ask. "And what was that?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

This catches him off guard and he tenses at the question. His sudden rigidity doesn't seem to bother Sakura—that, or she doesn't notice—and she waits patiently for an answer. "No, I do not. Why is she asking?"

"She said you're pretty hot, and she wants to get with you." This new piece of information is rather unsettling, Itachi decides. "So, what do you think?"

"No," he says curtly.

Sakura yawns widely before speaking again, "Awh, why not. I'm sure you'd like her. She's fun, outgoing, interesting, pretty accomplished…" she goes on with a list of characteristics she thinks Itachi would like, but he's stopped paying attention. He finds it somewhat amusing that she'd say Ino's accomplished when she looks down on her own achievements and berates herself so often.

"I am uninterested."

Sakura makes a disgruntled sound in the back of her throat, which causes a smirk to form on Itachi's face. "Fine, be that way. When she goes and gets married and you're jealous, don't come crying to me."

Itachi's signature smirk melts into a tiny smile. Sometimes Sakura's just too innocent—and _cute _dammit—that he can't help but smile. "I can assure you, Sakura, that will not happen."

Earlier displeasure forgotten, Sakura changes the topic and they talk of the most pointless things until she falls asleep. Itachi watches the small woman in his arms, rather worried. He doesn't know what's going on with her and he suspects that she'll have a fever again tomorrow and be freezing cold at night. The cycle will not simply end unless he does something about it. He decides that tomorrow morning he'll do a quick checkup of her system and see what he can do.

-

Sakura wakes up hazily, feeling pleasantly warm and finds that she's still in Itachi's arms. She still has a chill deep in her bones, but she's infinitely warmer than she had been last night. She instinctively curls further into his chest, but she suddenly freezes as her eyes widen, realization dawning on her. _She's still in Itachi's arms! _Sakura blushes hotly at the events of the past day and two nights; she forcefully represses a groan of embarrassment as she thinks back to the first night. She'd put her hands on his stomach…_under his shirt_. Her first instinct is to move away from him and save herself from further embarrassment, and she would have, had Itachi not tightened his hold on her waist. Sakura's entire body tenses as she realizes _just how close_ she is to him; her head is resting—comfortably, Inner Sakura adds—on his arm, which is curled around her shoulders, his other arm is wrapped protectively around her waist, her own arms are curled between them, holding onto the fabric of his shirt, and her head is tucked snugly under his chin. She can feel his steady heart beat, smell his masculine scent of rain and ashes, and it all becomes too much. If possible, her blush deepens and she's sure her face resembles a tomato right about now. However, despite the awkward situation, Sakura can't help but admit that this is the best she's slept in a _long_ time. She's warm, comfortable, and safe in Itachi's arms.

'_No! Stop it!' _Sakura reprimands herself. She refuses to develop anything deep for her partner, it will only hurt her and she knows it. Her thoughts are interrupted by a fit of violent coughs racking through her body and she vaguely feels Itachi rub gentle circles on her back. It feels like an eternity before the burn in her throat passes and she finally calms down, but Itachi doesn't stop his soothing ministrations.

"Go back to sleep, Sakura," he tells her gently, "It's still early."

Suddenly feeling incredibly tired, she nods into his chest and lets his steady heartbeat and comforting warmth lull her to sleep. She really can't be bothered with embarrassment right now, she's simply too tired and Itachi's too warm, so she easily drifts off into unconsciousness.

Itachi looks down at the petite kunoichi sleeping so trustingly in his arms. It's been a while since anyone has awarded him with such blind, unfailing trust, and to be quite honest, he likes the feeling. He'd been quite opposed to the idea of such close, intimate contact, and he's not sure he's too keen about it now, but its…nice…to wake up this way, arms occupied with an armful of soft, warm kunoichi, and maybe, just _maybe, _he could get used to this.

Itachi would have to be blind not to notice her beauty, because of course, he is only a man. However, it's her odd personality that attracts him to her the most. She's never feared him, not even at first. Whenever he's in the hospital, she doesn't flinch at even his coldest tone and hardest glares; instead she smiles and waves him off, offering some hollow threat about punching him into a tree if he tries to escape the hospital, or leaving him to die the next time he is injured. Despite her temper however, he's noticed that she's also ridiculously soft hearted, which is a weakness in a ninja, but he finds himself feeling compelled to protect her for some reason. He doesn't like how she is constantly putting herself down when she thinks no one is watching; he doesn't like the disapproving light in her eyes when she sees herself in the mirror, or when she's out training. He finds himself wanting to encourage her, to tell her to stop degrading herself that way, but that's simply unheard of, so he keeps his opinions to himself and simply watches from afar.

Simply put, Uchiha Itachi has feelings for Haruno Sakura.

And he knows it.

It's dangerous to involve oneself with their partner, especially during a mission. Knowing this however, he cannot shake the feeling he gets when he's with her. He finds that he's infinitely more at ease when she's around him, and not running off by herself doing some errands, or anything of the like. He enjoys her company and finds her interesting without a fault. He studies her at times, watches her simple nuances, deciphering each meaning. He's not obsessed with her, no, but he knows that his feelings towards her are more than completely platonic. She is simply too young, he tells himself, and to top it off, she's clearly Sasuke's territory. She's had feelings for his little brother since she's been young, so he has no chance at all. But this is wrong, he knows, because she's been over that silly crush for many years now, and he knows it.

Itachi goes over the many reasons why he certainly should _not _be interested, but not matter what he tells himself, he just can't shake his interest in her. Sakura is much too intriguing to pass up and he decides that, just this once, he doesn't want to listen to rational reasoning and rules; he just wants to do what he wants.

He breathes in her unique scent, which isn't cherries or strawberries like most believe, but it's a different, subtle, and sweet smell. He's still unsure about the nature of his feelings for her; yes, he knows he has _some _kind of feelings for her, but he doesn't know how deep they run, how serious this is, because he's never been interested in pursuing a relationship and never took the time to consider it. He'd always thought the elders would pick a suitable woman of the clan and he'd never have to go through the choosing process.

He silently observes the woman who has managed to spark his interest without even trying or knowing it, when so many others have failed, and he smiles; an honest smile that reaches his eyes and brightens his face, too bad no one is around or awake to see it. Suddenly feeling tired, he drifts back to sleep, arms wrapped around his petite partner.

-

Itachi wakes up again a few hours later and notices that, as expected, Sakura has a high fever. He gets up and places a fresh cool cloth on her forehead. He decides to do a quick check up on Sakura's system because this clearly isn't going to get better on its own. He may be proficient in healing, but he's never been comfortable invading another person's space by probing their system with his chakra unless it is absolutely necessary. But to be fair, he supposes that this would fall under the category of "absolutely necessary", so he pushes his discomfort aside and settles himself beside Sakura, bracing himself for the highly uncomfortable but unavoidable task ahead. Itachi places a hand above the center of her core and slowly lets his chakra seep into her own system, and what greets him takes him unawares. He hadn't expected her system to be in top condition, but this is just ridiculous and completely uncalled for. Her chakra, which should be circulating, is moving at an incredibly sluggish pace, preventing it from replenishing itself efficiently, therefore weakening Sakura and reducing her to her current state.

He's only seen this once before with one of his teammates as a Jounin several years ago, but their symptoms were different than Sakura's. His teammate had been unable to move about freely, coughed up blood and vomited often. It is an extremely dangerous illness and Itachi can't help but wonder once more how she's gotten this way. From past experience, he knows there's one guaranteed way to help regulate Sakura's system. He can assist her chakra in moving through her system with his own chakra, but she will get dependent on him, and if she can't support herself and her chakra cannot move through her system by itself within the span of twenty-four hours, then it is highly unlikely that she'll be able to…ever, therefore…she won't survive this. However, Itachi has no choice and he believes that she's strong enough to make it through this.

Itachi feels that perhaps he should wait until Sakura wakes up before he begins the 'healing' process so he can tell her what's the matter and what he needs to do to fix it.

So he waits.

-

_Thank you for reading!_

A/N:

I've actually had this part of the story done for a while now because the idea came into my head as I started this story, but at the time, it was still too early. I hope that now, it isn't too early anymore and it doesn't feel like I'm rushing their relationship. If I am, please let me know!

I realize that during their reports back in Konoha every few months, they could bring a sleeping bag or something, but I didn't want them to, because that would defeat the purpose of the whole _one-bed-in-the-cabin _thing. So if you were thinking the same thing, then please just ignore that and pretend they don't notice ;)

I'm starting to wonder if my readers think that this Itachi is a bit too nice? I assumed that without the whole massacre thing, he'd keep his kind, peace-loving, and somewhat gentle attitude like he used to be with Sasuke. I happen to like this Itachi, but if you have any complaints and such about it, please let me know about that too.

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews make me suuper happy :D

_Hope you enjoyed!_

~Ja!


	6. The Solution

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Six: The Solution_

_Enjoy! (:_

_0-0-0  
_

Sakura wakes up a short while later, feeling extremely out of sorts. The events of the past few days feel distant, as if it had happened years ago or as if they happened in a hazy dream that she tries to remember but only gets short glimpses. She vaguely remembers a sharp chill, and then warmth; a soft, comfortable warmth but she can't recall where said warmth had come from. She attempts to open her heavy eyelids, revealing a bright, blinding light causing her to screw her eyes shut once more.

"Sakura," she hears a distant but familiar voice call.

"Nngh…" she mumbles, still determined to block out the bright world beyond her eyelids.

"Wake up, you have not eaten yet and it is nearly noon."

Sakura groans unhappily. Her stomach clearly does not want to be filled right now and she's fairly certain she will empty its contents as soon as she fills it. She opens her eyes slowly and she sees Itachi standing by the bed holding what looks to be a bowl of warm soup. She watches as he moves to sit on the bed beside her and patiently waits for her to get up. She turns her head into the soft pillows around her and shakes her head, telling him that she has no intention of eating this morning.

"I'm not hungry," she mumbles into her pillow – which smells pleasantly like Itachi, Inner Sakura points out. This serves to remind her of the events of the past two nights and she stiffens in response to her sudden myriad of memories. _Oh. Hell. No._ This effectively wakes her up and she shoots up in bed, nearly hitting Itachi's head in the process. The only thing that saves him are his quick reflexes. Sakura had gotten up much too quickly and collapses miserably back on the bed, now feeling even more nauseous than before.

"You need to eat something," Itachi informs his clearly troubled partner.

Sakura slowly pulls herself up from the warm bed. "I know, I know, I won't get better if I don't get nutrients…"

Itachi hands her the warm bowl, which she eats grudgingly. He waits patiently for her to finish before taking the bowl from her and placing it on the table near the bed.

"Ne, Itachi," she says, her eyes fixed on some point past his shoulder.

He raises his eyebrow at her odd behavior, but lets her continue nonetheless.

"About…um…last night and before…I'm uh….I'm-really-sorry-I-put-you-through-that-because-I-know-that-must-have-been-really-awkward-and—"she rushes the last part and her partner hardly understands what she's saying, but she's cut off before she can finish.

To her complete and utter surprise, Itachi actually _laughs. _Well…it's more of a miniature chuckle…thing, but the foreign sound from his lips causes Sakura to gape at him, unsure of what to say now. It is an immensely pleasing sound, her inner persona supplies in the midst of her shock, and she can't help but agree with her Inner.

Before he can stop the traitorous sound, Itachi finds himself laughing at his petite partner's expense—really, she's come down with some myseterious illness and neither of them can figure out the cause of it, and she's worried about _that_? But he can't help it really, because she's simply too endearing to even attempt to put into words, and he's always prided himself in having a fairly extensive vocabulary. At this point, he decides that, earlier reservations be damned, he is going to make Sakura his. She's is too rare a treasure to pass up and Itachi has no plans to do so. He watches as Sakura's face twists into one of confusion…and offense? Had she taken offense at his laughter? Itachi can't help but let another chuckle escape him; Sakura is just full of amusing little surprises.

"_What_" Sakura asks, "is so funny?"

"It is nothing," he tells her, his earlier mirth fading away. "There is no need to apologize for the past few days. You are sick and it is my duty as your captain to make sure you are healthy." The past few days haven't been unpleasant at all, quite the opposite really, but Itachi keeps that to himself.

"Yeah, I guess…but still—"

Itachi cuts her off with a shake of his head as he urges her to lie down again.

"I have found the source of your illness." He tells her, changing the light topic.

Sakura tilts her head curiously at him. "What is it?"

"I do not know how it happened, but the circulation of your chakra has been slowed and will stop in about two days' time if it is not addressed. I can help your chakra circulate using my own, but if it does not circulate on its own after twenty-four hours, then there is a good chance that it is not going to. Should you choose to agree to this, you will need to stay in bed for the entire process so as not to strain your body."

Of course, leave it to Itachi to remain completely poker-faced and straightforward when it comes to dealing with these kinds of things. Sakura's only ever heard of this condition but she's never treated anything like it, but she trusts that Itachi has at least seen it and knows what he's doing, though this doesn't really help ease the anxiety.

"Is that the only way? That's a lot of strain on your body."

"It is the only way I know of."

"Is it safe?"

"I have done it before, so there is no need to worry."

"Right…I guess if there's nothing else we can do…and if it's alright with you, then I'm willing to do it."

"Very well, we can start as early as you please."

"Am I allowed to read through this? I'd get pretty bored lying down for twenty-four hours."

Itachi shakes his head, "That would strain your eyes, you need to be as relaxed as possible through it."

"…well…am I allowed to talk to you? I mean…if that's okay with you." Sakura resists the urge to violently hit her head against the headboard.

'_How incredibly lame is that! He's going to notice that you get all shy and stuttery whenever it comes to talking about him!' _Inner Sakura yells loudly in her tired mind.

Contrary to Inner's belief, Itachi does not realize _why _she has suddenly got shy, just that she has. He raises his eyebrow, slightly bemused, but does not question her. "That is acceptable."

A small grin makes its way on Sakura's face as she nods her assent. "'Kay. Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"I have not," he answers honestly.

"Well then, we can start after you eat, if that's alright with you."

Itachi smiles inwardly. Even when she is ill, she still has the medic-mothering nature she is so widely known for. It's in her blood, he supposes, because he remembers Sasuke telling him that her mother was the same way—a part of him resolves to learn things about Sakura on his own and not rely on his outoto to inform of these things; it's _not_ jealousy that Sakura trusts Sasuke with such precious information, he tells himself. Other than his own mother—and perhaps Sasuke, secretly of course—no one really honestly cares for his well-being. His Father and the clan elders only care about his future and the future of the clan, the women who pretend to care for him have all been shallow and only interested in his money and political power, so having Sakura care in her own little way is a refreshing and welcomed change. "Very well," he says quietly as he gets off the bed and makes his way to their little kitchen.

"Oh, and you should eat a bit extra if this entire thing is continuous," she calls after him.

"Very well," Itachi calls back. He really can't help but smile and he distantly notes that he's been smiling a lot more since they got to this cabin.

Sakura sighs silently after Itachi leaves. Once again, her weakness and carelessness have delayed their mission and she's become nothing more than a burden. Why is it so hard to just stay out of the way? Itachi's been so ridiculously lenient of her weaknesses and she wonders if he really is alright with her being sick and all, or if he's simply hiding his irritation with her. However, he would gain nothing from being kind from her so there's no reason why he should have to pretend to be fine with her. She can't offer him anything other than friendship, and Uchiha Itachi, she's sure, doesn't need something as petty as _friendship._

But maybe he gets lonely, Sakura muses. Just because he doesn't _need_ friendship, doesn't necessarily mean she can't be his friend anyway. Because even geniuses need someone they can be themselves around.

'_What makes you think he wants to be our friend?' _Inner Sakura asks.

Of course. How foolish of her to believe that _the _Uchiha Itachi would want to be friends with her. Why her, of all people, when he has dozens of people lined up to be his friend; dozens of people who are surely much more worthy than her. Sure, she sees him as her friend, but who knows what Itachi thinks of her.

Sakura sighs lightly. This really isn't a great time to be troubling herself with such thoughts. She's sick, tired, and ready to throw up; she really doesn't need more of a reason to empty the contents of her already protesting stomach. She closes her eyes, intending to simply rest her tired eyes for a few minutes, but her mind drifts off into a state of unconsciousness and in less than two minutes, Sakura falls sound asleep in the warm bed.

Itachi comes back to find his partner sound asleep, but not looking very well rested. He debates on whether he should wake her up now or just wait until she wakes up on her own. If he lets her sleep in, she may be more prepared for the long, strenuous process they're about to go through, but he somehow doubts that a few extra hours will help her very much. If she's sick, she's going to be just as tired now as she will be in a few hours. With that in mind, Itachi moves to wake up his partner.

"Nghh..." she fairly slurs in her half-asleep state.

"Sakura, it would be best to start the process as soon as possible."

The pink-haired medic slowly opens her eyelids, blinks a few times, and closes her eyes once more, tucking her head into the warm pillow. Itachi smirks at her childlike antics and places a large hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura."

"I know…" she mumbles, slowly getting up with some help, "Should I sit up for this?"

Itachi simply nods. "It will help your system circulate better."

"Mmm…right," she replies, rubbing the remaining sleep from her eyes. "So what do I do?"

"Lean against the headboard."

"'Kay."

Itachi waits for her to settle down and get comfortable and when she does, he settles himself at her side, preparing for the long process. "Are you ready?" Sakura nods timidly and he misses the small blush that tints her cheeks before she suppresses it once more. "Very well."

Itachi decides on where it would be most appropriate and convenient to place his hands, because he only needs one place of contact and it doesn't need to be anywhere specific. He settles for placing his hand atop hers and begins to push is chakra into her. Sakura feels a warm presence making its way through her system and she distantly notes that Itachi's chakra is surprisingly warm, although, given his fire-based chakra, she supposes it makes sense. He hears her sigh softly in what he assumes to be relief, but he's unsure what it is he's relieved her _of. _But he supposes it doesn't matter, just that whatever it was, it's gone now.

They spend the first few hours of the session talking of light insignificant things, but as the day wears on, Sakura can feel herself nodding off every now and then and it seems Itachi's noticed as well. "Go to sleep, Sakura, your body still needs it."

Sakura stifles a yawn and shakes her head. "I'm not tired," she murmurs half-heartedly. Itachi simply looks at her, unconvinced. "I'll let you know when I am," she reassures him. He nods minutely and they continue talking about inconsequential matters. In a matter of minutes, however, her head starts drifting to the side, a clear indication of her fatigue.

"Ne, Itachi," Sakura murmurs, "I'm tired." Before he can say anything, her head falls lightly on his shoulder, and he realizes she's already asleep. He stares at the top of her head for a few seconds, unsure of how to handle the situation. It is a rather pleasant situation, however, and he decides, against his rational mind, that he's just going to let her sleep; it really isn't bothering him any, so he sees no reason in waking her.

A slight smile, accentuated by the orange afternoon glow, creeps up on his face as he watches his small partner resting comfortable on his shoulder.

Perhaps he could get used to this…

0-0-0

A/N: I'm sorry for the extremely late update and the short chapter. I just haven't had the time at all to work on this and I don't know how much time I'll have in the next little while. Also, I don't know why, but this was a really hard chapter to write. I had no inspirations and no ideas whatsoever for this, but here it is!

_Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless._

~Ja!


	7. About Time

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Seven: About Time_

_Enjoy! (:_

_0-0-0  
_

Itachi's usually intense eyes soften as he looks fondly at the head of soft, pink hair leaning gently on his shoulder. She emits a small, admittedly endearing sound, betraying the level of her fatigue. She's been asleep for about two hours now but his steady flow of chakra has never wavered or ceased since they'd started several hours ago. Itachi debates whether he should wake his partner to eat, given she hasn't eaten anything since her small brunch and she needs the nourishment, or if he should just let her sleep. After a few minutes of careful consideration, he decides that she needs to eat in order for her body to gain the strength it needs to properly circulate her chakra without his aid. With that thought in mind, he moves his free hand to wake her from her light doze.

Sakura wakes up easily enough, feeling extremely rejuvenated and remarkably better than the first time she woke that day. She blinks a few times and she wonders why she seems to be looking at everything sideways. Realization of her position hits her suddenly and, not for the first time, she moves from her spot abruptly.

"I'm so sorry, Itachi!" she apologizes quickly, eyes wide with surprise and cheeks dusted pink with mild embarrassment.

The handsome Uchiha simply shakes his head in dismissal of her unnecessary apology and motions towards the food he had placed conveniently on the bedside table before starting this entire process. "Eat," he tells her.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Just over two hours."

Sakura hums in comprehension as to why she is so hungry. Sakura has always been the type to eat small amounts of food more often so it makes sense that going as long as she had without food, especially given her condition, would leave her famished. She reaches over for the teriyaki chicken and sets it on her lap so she can manage to eat it using her one free hand. However, before she can dig in to the delicious looking food, Itachi's hand comes over the plate, effectively blocking it from her. Before she can question his actions, His hands light up with light blue chakra and she realizes that he's heating it for her to enjoy properly.

"Thanks," Sakura says sweetly once he's finished and she daintily digs in to the now warm plate of food. "Are you hungry?" she asks about halfway through her meal, seeing that he seems to have no intention of grabbing a plate of food for himself.

"Not particularly," he says in his calm, lilting tenor. Sakura never fails to miss the way his serene voice always calms her flitting nerves. This sickness that had loudly intruded on her mission had left her feeling restless and on edge. But her conversations with Itachi always seem to distract her from her worries for a short while.

"Ne, Iatchi, how long has it been since we started?"

"Just under seven hours."

"Oh, it feels like I've been sleeping for days." Sakura's eyes are clouded and distant and Itachi isn't quite sure what to make of it. Perhaps she is still tired, he wonders. "How are you doing? Are you tired at all?" Sakura asks, genuinely worried for her partner and slightly guilty for having to put him through this, given his discomfort with such extended close proximity.

"I am doing well," he tells her easily, "As are you." At this, the small pinkette tilts her head in confusion causing Itachi to smirk at her childlike display. "Your chakra is not rejecting the sudden push and aid in flow, nor is it reacting negatively to the presence of my chakra."

Understanding finally dawns on Sakura and she nods in approval. "That's good."

They pass the next seventeen hours in relative normalcy, eating and sleeping (on Sakura's part) when needed and keeping each other company when Sakura is awake. It is not the least bit awkward as she had first expected it be, and for that she is thankful.

"It is time." Itachi tells his partner at the end of twenty-four hours. "The flow of your chakra, though not quite normal, is much stronger than before. You will be fine."

Sakura's eyes brighten to a brilliant emerald green as a grin spreads across her pale face. "Thank you Itachi."

The Uchiha ceases his chakra's assistance but does not completely withdraw from her. He remains to asses her flow and to see what will happen next, and as he had said, she is well on her way to recovery. It's just past noon at this point and Itachi estimates a good six hours before she has the energy to move about again. He tells her such and agrees to her request for a bit of light training later this evening.

"Rest for now. I will wake you for dinner, and then we will train." Sakura simply nods and sink into the soft pillows.

0-0-0

Despite the past few days where Sakura has been completely inactive, her stamina and strength have not suffered at all and she is at the same level as before, if not a bit higher from the extended rest. Her muscles are a bit sore afterwards, but other than that, she is completely fine.

"I'm kind of surprised, to be honest," Sakura tells her partner on their way back, "I thought I'd need a lot of extra training after that whole thing." There is nothing for Itachi to say, so he doesn't reply, but Sakura is not deterred. She's been around him long enough to understand that just because he doesn't answer, doesn't mean he's not listening, so she keeps talking. "Thank you again, Itachi."

Itachi looks down at the petite female at his side and he sees genuine gratitude and a hint of remorse in her emerald eyes. "You are welcome," he tells her.

"So tomorrow, am I allowed to go back out?"

Her partner doesn't answer for some time and she wonders if he heard her, but eventually he speaks. "Yes, we will continue with the mission."

Sakura has half a mind to apologize one more time for the delay, but she's already done so many times and each time, Itachi had said it was unnecessary. Besides, she doesn't think he'd appreciate her constant apologies; once was enough. So she settles for a nod and they continue the rest of the way back in comfortable silence.

_0-0-0_

_The Next Day_

Sakura inconspicuously explores the long corridors of the private section of one of the bars in the Village Hidden in the Snow. Sources told them that this is one of the many headquarters of the organization they've been ordered to disband.

"There are no doors, Itachi," she whispers into her radio.

"_Have you checked the entire length of that hallway?" _

"Yeah."

She hears Itachi sigh quietly, a rare indication of his stress and disappointment. _"Very well, you may return."_

"K, I'll see you back there then." Upon getting no response, she merely shrugs and begins making her way out of the seemingly unending maze of hallways.

"Hey, girl. What are you doing there?" Sakura's eyes widen fractionally before forcing herself to relax and turn to meet the owner of the voice. Standing by her is a man, middle aged, medium build, slightly taller than her; also fairly good looking, she notes detachedly. But no matter how good looking he may be, Sakura can't shake the suspicious, menacing atmosphere around him.

"Thank goodness someone found me," Sakura says in the most innocent voice she can muster, an octave higher than her usual voice "I was on my way to the washroom, but I'm afraid I got lost."

The man smirks. "Sorry to say we have no public washrooms, sweetie, but I can take you to the staff washrooms," he says in a tone so blatantly suggestive that Sakura would have to be deaf to miss.

She looks up at him, pulling her most innocent face, though inwardly, she cringes in disgust, "That would be great."

"_Sakura, what are you doing?" _she hears Itachi in her earpiece.

The man has started walking and she follows slightly behind him. Lengthening the distance between them fractionally, Sakura chances a reply in hushed tones, "He's taking me to some staff washroom. I'll just look around and leave right away." Sakura has just started to recover from her illness and he is not about to leave her in the company of a stranger.

"_No, it's too dangerous. Come back here." _This serves to bring up bitter memories of Sakura's past when Sasuke and Naruto would constantly tell her the same words. Caught in her anger at her past, she misses the fact that Itachi's voice is only a little more urgent than she's used to hearing.

"I can do this, Itachi," she says in a harsh tone that's meant more for her team than him.

"_Sakura—" _she pulls the earpiece from its place, effectively cutting him off. "I'll show you," she mumbles.

"What was that?" the man in front of her looks back.

"Oh! I was just saying that I still don't know your name." she finishes somewhat hurriedly.

"Oh right, how rude of me. My name is Tanaka Hiroshi," he bows down in an exaggeratedly majestic manner, "And what is your name, m'lady?"

"Yamane Mai," she quickly makes up.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mai."

"Likewise, Tanaka-san." They make their way to the staff washrooms in relative silence. Sakura observes her surroundings and stores it in her mind for future reference. There isn't anything that looks even mildly suspicious, but Sakura is careful to make any assumptions. True to her word, she does nothing that would blow her cover or cause suspicion—except for knock that perverted man unconscious before stuffing him in the nearest janitor closet—and gets out of the bar as soon as she can.

0-0-0

Back at the cottage, Itachi is beyond himself in anger and concern, though he'd never admit it. Sakura is still not aware that she may be in danger and he plans to keep it that way, however, if she puts herself in said danger, then it may not be entirely up to him. After what happened the past few days, he was reluctant to let Sakura go anywhere by herself but he knows that he can't always be watching her. He trusts her ability to take care of herself, but the environment is foreign to them both and he isn't so sure he can trust everyone else. All he can do now is wait for her to come back because going there would only raise suspicion.

Itachi is pulled from his thoughts at the sound of the door opening and closing. He looks up to see Sakura, very much intact and safe and his first impulse is to go over to her and check for injuries or damage. However, he simply watches her as she takes off her coat and greets him before standing by the bed to soak in the warmth of the fireplace.

"Sakura," he calls once he decides she's warm enough.

She looks over at him, unaware of his anger. "Yeah?"

Itachi closes his eyes and when they open again, they are no longer the crimson red of the sharingan, but his natural charcoal grey, which Sakrua has always found to be extremely rare and entrancing. "You disobeyed an order from your direct superior."

She starts to catch on to his irritation by the tension in his posture and the stiffness in his steps as he walks over to her. Immediately on defense, she retorts hotly, "You were being unfair! I'm not twelve, Itachi."

"I did not treat you as such."

"Yeah you did. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. When were we ever going to get another chance like that one? He _offered_ to show me around."

"That is not the point. Despite not working in a four man cell, I am still your captain and on the rare occasion that I give you a direct order, I expect you to follow."

Damn, there's no way she can argue with that; no matter how unfair he was being, the fact is that he's still her captain. Sakura sighs in defeat. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'll be sure to listen to you next time, taichou." Even though she knows he's right, it doesn't stop her from feeling slightly disappointed and hurt at his obvious lack of trust and faith in her skills. She had been under the impression that Itachi believed in her skills, but apparently this is not the case.

Itachi is somewhat surprised at her quick defeat. He feels a twinge of annoyance at the cold tone she regards him with and the fact that she just called him taichou. He's not annoyed at her necessarily, just…annoyed. He catches the disappointment in her eyes, though he doesn't know why she's feeling that way. He doesn't get the chance to ask why, however, because she turns away from him, making herself comfortable on their shared bed and making sure not to intrude his side of the bed.

"Sakura," Itachi calls again. He doesn't feel comfortable leaving things on such a sour note and wants to fix it before she goes to bed.

"Hai," mumbles into her pillow. He waits for her to sit up and face him, because he really doesn't want to have this conversation with her back. Eventually, she does get up but refuses to meet his eyes. He studies her for a while, which serves to make her feel uncomfortable. "Look, I'm sorry alright, I should have listened to you and it won't hap—"

"I was merely thinking of your safety, Sakura." This effectively silences her. It's so uncharacteristic for Itachi to say something so…_thoughtful_, and it causes the butterflies in her stomach to begin fluttering again, as they usually do when he does something out of the ordinary like that.

"Well thanks, but like I said, I can take care of myself," Sakura, still somewhat dazed at Itachi's remark, mutters, though with less venom than before.

"I am aware of your capabilities, but I do not want to take any chances."

The tone in his voice makes Sakura feel that maybe, just maybe, the object of her current affection (purely physical attraction, she reminds herself and Inner Sakura replies with a sarcastic, _'Yeah, yeah'_) is worried for her well-being. As soon as this thought enters her mind, however, she banishes it once more. There's no way that someone as accomplished as Itachi would waste his time on someone like her. The thought is unsettling, but it's the truth and Sakura knows better than to set herself up like that again.

"Alright then, if you say so," she says, looking down at the bed sheets.

Itachi doesn't miss the way her voice is disheartened and wonders what she'd been thinking about to make her sound this way. Having nothing left to say, he decides to leave her alone and let her sleep. He very gently places a warm hand on the back of her neck and pulls her forward, placing a quick, soft kiss to her temple. "Just be careful. Goodnight, Sakura." He lets her go and makes his way to the washroom, leaving a wide-eyed, astounded Sakura behind, and a pool of squealing goo that was once Inner Sakura.

She stares after him in shock long after he's gone, wondering if perhaps she'd imagined the entire thing, because that is _definitely _not something Itachi would do. Clearly she's still _very sick _to have imagined something like that.

Suddenly feeling incredibly tired, she brushes it off as Itachi being _really _tired and lies back down. She detachedly notes how the blankets smell like Itachi's unique scent and wraps herself further in said blankets.

0-0-0

Once in the washroom, Itachi studies himself closely in the mirror.

What had prompted him to do that? Perhaps it was the disheartened tone in Sakura's voice that he didn't like, or the fact that once he had admitted his attraction, it had only gotten worse and has been on the forefront of his mind more often than not. He isn't quite sure, but one thing he _is _sure of, is that he doesn't regret it. Having long ago realized his interest in his petite partner, he decides that perhaps it's about time to let her know. He'd been told that attachment is a weakness, but perhaps functioning with a weakness and still being considered one of the best makes one that much stronger. He decides resolutely that he is going to keep this one, he would secure Sakura's affection for himself and wrap his existence so far into hers that she won't even be able to fathom her life without him.

Itachi undresses and takes a quick shower before exiting the washroom. He remembers that neither he nor Sakura have eaten dinner yet and he goes to see if she is hungry, only to find that she's already fast asleep. It would be rather interesting to see how she would react if he were to wake her, and he'd certainly have fun ruffling her feathers. But she's tired so, deciding to save her from embarrassment, the handsome Uchiha does not to disturb her sleep; if she's hungry, she'll wake up on her own.

/0/0/0/0/0

A/N:

I know I say this every chapter, but please trust me when I say that I mean it every single time!

I'm so terribly sorry for the super late update! I've been ridiculously busy recently and I just haven't been able to get the time to work on it. Even now, I'm neglecting my work to post this, but here it is! I thought it was about time Sakura knew of Itachi's interest in her, so let me know what you think!

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

_Hope you enjoyed!_

~Ja!


	8. Patience Pays Off

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Eight: Patience Pays Off_

_Enjoy! (:_

Itachi contemplates their next plan of action in regards to the mission as he sits by the bed on one of the little bedside seats. It had started out well enough, but recently, they haven't been able to find any of their targets, nor have they been given the long awaited offer to join the organization. They have two more targets left, including the main target, Hasegawa Kajou. He knows he's repeatedly told Sakura to be patient, but he understands her exasperation in their current situation. The Uchiha's mind wanders to his petite partner as he sits by the warm fire, nursing a cup of medicinal tea recommended by her. He lets his eyes drift to her sleeping form on the bed and he notes the now healthy color of her face. She had recovered fairly well, thankfully, and Itachi is mildly impressed at her eagerness to continue the mission right away.

Finishing the rest of his tea, he places the cup in the sink and washes it before carefully climbing into bed so as not to disturb the pinkette also occupying it. It takes some time for Itachi to fall asleep and he thinks back to his actions earlier that evening.

0-0-0

_Having nothing left to say, he decides to leave her alone and let her sleep. He very gently places a warm hand on the back of her neck and pulls her forward, placing a quick, soft kiss to her temple. "Just be careful. Goodnight, Sakura." He lets her go and makes his way to the washroom, leaving a wide-eyed, astounded Sakura behind, and a pool of squealing goo that was once Inner Sakura._

0-0-0

He inwardly smirks, gauging Sakura's reaction tomorrow. She will probably try to act as though nothing happened, but will fail miserably because she won't even be able to look him in the eye. Itachi closes his eyes with a faint smile playing on his lips, letting sleep overcome his consciousness.

_The Next Day_

Sakura wakes up slowly, letting the warm morning sun soak her face. She incoherently notes that there is another source of warmth which isn't the sun, somewhere nearby. Blinking her sleepy eyes, she sees nothing but black in front of her face and it takes some time, but she eventually realizes that it's the fabric of her partner's shirt and that she's curled up into a small ball, her head lightly pressed against Itachi's arm.

_What?_

She feels her face heat up at the compromising position she finds herself in, not for the first time in the past few days, and she absently wonders why someone up there loves to put h her in such uncomfortable positions. As slowly as she can, she moves herself to the far end of their shared bed, trying her damned hardest not to wake—

"Good morning, Sakura," she hears his smooth velvety tenor say, not at all roughened by sleep, which means he's been awake for some time.

Oh. Hell.

Sakura freezes wide-eyed, suddenly feeling like a young child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She can practically feel his amusement emanating from him.

"Good morning, Itachi," she squeaks out in a voice smaller than she would have liked. She chances a glance up at him, and as she had predicted, his charcoal eyes are glinting with amusement and his signature smirk is in its place.

He sits up casually, leaning his back against the headboard. "How was your sleep?" he asks good-naturedly, his eyes still clearly teasing her.

Deciding to steel herself against his teasing, she sits up and meets her partner's gaze. Sakura immediately feels her resolve crumble under his smoldering charcoal eyes as he watches her.

"I slept well, and you?" she manages to get out, pleased that it is not the squeak she had released earlier.

"I slept very well, thank you," he returns easily.

Sakura sits under his gaze, fidgeting uncomfortably at the silence that settles over them. Itachi, however, seems to be completely comfortable just watching his partner dart her eyes to various parts of their little cottage; anywhere but at him. He can't help but notice that although she had just woken up, and even with her sleep-mussed hair, there is something undeniably attractive and beautiful about her; an ethereal, natural beauty, reserved only for an enchantress.

Said enchantress chances a glance at her partner and catches him watching her with a look that can only be described as affectionate which makes her breath catch in her throat, and with a soft gasp and a cute blush, she looks away once more. She supposes that the possibility of last night never actually happening can be ruled out, if the look on Itachi's face is anything to go by.

The corner of Itachi's lips curl upward at the impossibly endearing kunoichi sitting in front of him. It's not that she had _caught_ him watching her with blatant interest, but rather that he had _allowed _her to see. He no longer sees a reason to disguise his interest in her and after yesterday, he's certain that she's already aware of his attraction to her.

"Umm…" Sakura trails uncomfortably.

Deciding to save her from further embarrassment, he flashes her a rare smile, which Inner Sakura can only describe as _'heart-stoppingly gorgeous', _before heading off to the kitchen to make them both breakfast.

For the second time in less than twelve hours, Sakura is left speechless, staring at Itachi's retreating figure. It takes a minute of two for her to break out of her stupor and follow him into the kitchen. Along the way, she tells herself that she absolutely cannot, _will not,_ allow herself to fall for Itachi; whatever he's feeling now can only be temporary, and she doesn't think she'll be able to handle it when he tells her he's finally lost interest in her, if she allows her heart to be truly involved with him. Because really, how can Uchiha Itachi, youngest to join the ranks of ANBU, youngest to become an ANBU captain, and prized clan heir, among many other achievements, be interested in a mediocre kunoichi with a mostly civilian background—her father had been the only other shinobi in her family—and no family? Determined not to be too put off about this, she clears her mind of such thoughts.

Upon entering the little kitchen area, she sees Itachi looking into a pot of what seems to be boiling water, then depositing some noodles into the pot and then placing the lid back as he turns the heat of the stove down. He then moves to find a cutting board and a knife in one of the cupboards. Seeing Itachi working in the kitchen is a truly novel sight and he looks so uncharacteristically domestic that Sakura has to blink a few times to make sure she isn't just imagining this. She recalls Itachi bringing her food when she was sick, but she had never taken the time to consider that in order to bring her the food, he had to have cooked it first. And if she recalls correctly, his cooking had been _fantastic._ The entire idea of the famed Uchiha Itachi _cooking,_ of all things, is quite laughable and Sakura has to fight to keep in a giggle that's threatening to free itself from her throat.

"Do you want some help?" she offers after some time and Itachi turns to regard her.

"Will you prepare the broth?" he asks, motioning to the unprepared vegetables.

Sakura nods wordlessly and falls into place beside her partner, easily cutting and preparing the vegetables. She can't help but feel like she's playing house and she wonders if this is how an idealistic couple would behave. Prepare breakfast, enjoy a good meal together, then perhaps sit and enjoy a few hours of each other's company—Sakura stops this particular train of thought before she gets too caught up in it to realize that it is _not _going to happen, especially not with Itachi. Such is the life of a shinobi.

She is pulled from her thoughts as a familiar warmth settles against her back, enveloping her in Itachi's masculine scent. He reaches past her from behind to get the seasonings from the cupboard in front of her. Sakura feels his warm breath and freezes at the lack of distance between them and the intimacy of their current position. She is tempted to lean back into his chest, but forces herself not to.

"The pot is nearly overflowing," he tells her in his smooth tenor, pleasantly noting her shivers at his close proximity.

Sakura's eyes widen in alarm and she turns the heat down immediately, stirring the contents of the boiling pot. The Uchiha smirks at the flustered kunoichi as he steps away from her, allowing her some space.

This will certainly be an interesting morning.

Sakura manages to get through the rest of breakfast preparations without making a complete fool of herself, and to her immense relief and mild, secret disappointment, Itachi does not come too close to her, other than a quick brush of their shoulders a few times, which she honestly does not mind. He notes amusedly that Sakura stubbornly refuses to meet his gaze for longer than two seconds and he smirks at the soft blush dusting her cheeks when she does.

"Itadakimasu," they say in unison as they begin to eat breakfast.

Breakfast is pleasant enough and Sakura is relived that her partner doesn't do anything to deliberately embarrass or fluster her because she is still determined to avoid the topic of Itachi's actions last night and any implications it may have.

"We will be returning to the village to investigate a possible headquarter site and follow up on a lead we received about one of our targets," Itachi informs Sakura after breakfast.

The petite medic nods her head in response, "I'll be ready in half an hour."

"Very well."

Sakura heads off to the washroom after cleaning up and she takes a quick shower before placing her usual henge on herself. She looks at her reflection in the mirror, seeing a brunette looking back at her with deep amber eyes similar to that of her shishou's. The shape of her eyes has also been altered from their once round, innocent shape to a narrower, more exotic shape. After one final check to make sure everything is right, she exits the washroom to find her partner already ready and waiting for her at the kitchen table. Sakura regards her partner with a slightly apologetic look on her face.

Itachi, now having hair a shade darker than her own in its usual ponytail at the nape of his neck and piercing blue eyes, nods, "Are you ready, Mai?"

"Hai, Takeo."

…..

Mai and Takeo enter the lounge of a small café in the Snow Village, making a bee-line for the counter to place an order before finding a slightly secluded table to sit at. They engage in simple, light conversation as the two asses the small, deceivingly quaint and peaceful café.

Takehashi Akemi, one of the targets on the mission list, is sitting a fair distance away and conversing with another girl.

"How do we get her alone?" Mai asks quietly.

"We simply wait for an opportunity," Takeo returns, equally quiet.

Much to Mai's inner irritation, they do _just _that. Akemi and her friend leave the café shortly and Mai and her partner follow soon after, hoping the target will leave her friend soon. However, the two spend a large part of the day together and it isn't until several hours later that they are able to get their target alone in an area secluded enough that they won't draw any attention getting the job done.

"I was wondering when you'd show yourselves," Akemi says after their surprise attack fails. Neither Mai nor Takeo reply; Instead, they drop their henge as it is an unnecessary waste of chakra. Their true identities are not immediate danger of being revealed because they're going to eliminate this threat soon enough anyway. Judging from her reaction, it seems that Akemi recognizes either the Uchiha clan or Itachi himself, for she visibly tenses as soon as he drops his henge and activates his sharingan.

"Just what is it you want from me?" Akemi asks boldly, but once again, Sakura and Itachi remain silent as they simply watch their target. "I recognize you both; you're Haruno Sakura," she says, motioning to the pinkette. "Student of the Fifth Hokage and infamous Copy-nin, Hatake Kakashi." Akemi then turns to Itachi, standing a fair distance from her. "And you're Uchiha Itachi, youngest person ever to graduate from the Academy in Konoha and to join the ranks of ANBU, as well as become a captain. Your reputations precede you."

This time, Itachi simply nods his head in acknowledgement before glancing briefly at Sakura. This seems to serve as some kind of signal, for at his command, they both launch into action. Anticipating their course of action, Akemi leaps a relatively safe distance away as she creates three bunshins of herself, launching them in Sakura's direction as she herself goes to face off against Itachi. Sakura and Itachi immediately sense that the bunshins are not ordinary ones and will not disappear until Akemi's chakra is completely depleted or she releases the jutsu. The two exchange glances briefly before returning their attention to their own respective opponents.

Sakura stands, crouched in a battle ready position, ready to move at any given moment as her opponents size her up. The bunshins predictably come at her all at once in a direct attack. She easily dodges the punches and kicks thrown her way and slams her chakra enhanced fist into the ground before leaping away to avoid the miniature earthquake. The Akemi bunshins are caught off guard and stumble in the flying rock and debris but soon jump away from the site. By the time they regroup and try to process what just happened, Sakura has already come up with a plan of action and is currently nowhere to be found. However, before the bunshins can take the time to look for her, she, along with two of her own clones, break through the ground beneath the three Akemi's, delivering chakra enhanced punches. The Akemi clones go flying upward but regain control of their situation soon enough. They realize that, like themselves, Sakura's clones will not disappear until her chakra supply has been depleted or she releases the jutsu. Sakura knows that all she can do now is stall these three and wait until Itachi can detain their target, or fight with them until they exhaust their chakra.

Itachi is some distance away dealing with the real Akemi. Like his partner, he waits for his opponent to make the first move, and like Akemi's clones, she does.

With a flurry of hand seals and a quiet whisper of "Doton: Doryuu Taiga," a land slide of mud comes rushing towards Itachi.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu," the Uchiha mutters. He lets out a huge fireball easily, drying the mud rushing towards him to hard dirt.

He suddenly disappears from his spot, only to reappear behind Akemi not a second later. He throws a hard kick to her side which she blocks with her arm. She, in turn, swivels around to deliver a kick of her own but finds that he's already moved. He's now on her right side, sending a barrage of creative blows. They engage in a taijutsu battle and in time, it becomes obvious that the two are very closely matched in terms of their Taijutsu abilities.

Seeing that they will get nowhere if they continue, Itachi leaps away, thinking of a different approach in detaining their target. Genjutsu would seem to be the obvious path to take, but he hasn't properly assessed her abilities and it could be potentially dangerous because she could turn his own technique on him. Although he's praised to be one of, if not _the, _best in genjutsu, he does not want to take any chances; for all he knows, she could be a specialist in genjutsu. So he supposes ninjutsu is the only other option he has left.

"Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu," he mutters quietly from his place. The snow around them that had melted from his Katon Jutsu immediately swirls around him, coming together in the form of a shark. The jutsu rushes towards Akemi and she does her best to avoid in, but it insistently pursues her.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan!" Akemi takes a deep breath and releases a stream of fire from her mouth, creating a barrier of fire in front of her. The wall of fire and the steam from the evaporated Suiton Jutsu obstruct her view and she misses Itachi making the appropriate hand seals for his next jutsu.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu." The fire dragon easily breaks through the barrier, catching her off guard. She is thrown back several yards from the force of the impact, her right side burned severely.

They continue in their struggle and Sakura can immediately tell that Akemi is getting tired. Her clones are slowing down and it's becoming easier to land a hit on them. Of course, she isn't in mint condition either; she has several injuries—none of which are fatal, however—along with a few broken bones, and her chakra supply is starting to run low, but she refuses to allow herself a break to heal herself or catch her breath. Then, catching Sakura off-guard, the Akemi clones disappear with a puff of smoke and she briefly wonders if Itachi has already finished the job. But she hears the sound of their battle still raging on and knows that can't be right.

Not bothering to stop and take a breather, Sakura releases her jutsu and her clones disappear and she rushes off to help Itachi. The Uchiha immediately senses the approach of his partner some distance away but it seems as though his opponent has not noticed it yet. He assumes she has already released her clones and that's why Sakura is on her way. He just hopes that she'll realize that she has the element of surprise.

They've resorted back to taijutsu now because Itachi had realized some time ago that he has an advantage over her because she's worn out from using her clones. Sensing a momentary lapse in concentration on her part, Itachi comes up behind her and forces her into a large, protruding piece of rock in the ground, twisting her arm at an unnatural angle and smirks in satisfaction at the pained gasp she lets out. She somehow twists free from his hold and he's forced to leap away from her to avoid her furious and nearly desperate punches and kicks. After some time, he manages to catch her weak spot and kicks her up into the air with every intention of breaking her bones on her way back down to earth. However, Sakura suddenly appears behind her and delivers a chakra enhanced punch, forcing her back down at unnatural speeds. Itachi quickly makes a large pile of snow, via a modified jutsu, to cushion her fall so she isn't killed immediately on contact with the ground from the impact. She is, however, knocked unconscious and the two waste no time in restraining her.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu." At Sakura's command, a black wolf is summoned. "I need you to take this body back to Konoha, Keitaro," she instructs her animal summons, petting his nose lightly. The wolf nuzzles into her hand affectionately before nodding obediently. He allows her to load the unconscious body without much hassle and disappears in smoke to fulfill his job.

Sakura doesn't know how she's missed it before, but Itachi has a large would stretching from his shoulder to his abdomen and is bleeding profusely, along with several less pressing injuries littered on his person.

"Itachi, you're hurt!" Sakura rushes to her partner's side and instructs him to sit down to make it easier on him and ease the stress of his body, but he stubbornly refuses, insisting they return to the cottage before starting any healing. "Stop being stubborn, you're seriously hurt" Sakura scolds him, having no patience for his oversized male ego right now. In the midst of her anger, she misses the way Itachi's pain hardened eyes soften slightly at her worried tone.

"I can make it," he tells her adamantly.

"_Itachi_," She growls menacingly.

They argue for a moment longer before Sakura finally gives up, deciding that every moment they spend arguing is another wasted _not _healing him.

They get back to their makeshift home soon enough and Sakura instructs her partner to discard his shirt and lay down on the bed while she washes her hands and gets the necessary supplies ready. When she sees his chest marred with several angry bruises along with many injuries, some still bleeding, she has to fight back her pained grimace. This isn't the worse she's seen, not by any stretch of the imagination, especially not with this particular patient, but that doesn't change the fact that his injuries are still extensive and must be causing him all kinds of pain, and his slightly labored breathing does it's part to worry her more as she rushes to her partner's side immediately.

She starts cleaning the blood off his chest first with warm water and a soft cloth and she feels his skin getting clammy and warm with a fever. She knows instantly that his wound is either infected or he has some kind of poison in his system. Now even more panicked than before—which is really saying something—she finishes up cleaning his wounds quickly and starts her assessment of his condition. As she had predicted, the large wound on his chest is infected and his body is fighting off the infection as best it can. His ribs are broken and are jabbing his lungs, making it difficult to breathe, which would account for his labored breathing.

Sakura wonders how the hell their targets are able to injure Itachi to this extent. Maybe next time, she needs to stay by him—but _not _get in the way, or stand on the sidelines, she quickly adds—just to watch his back and maybe deal with his injuries before they accumulate.

…..

It takes a grand total of six hours to finish heal Itachi's injuries, which isn't too bad, given the fact that her chakra level is dangerously low and has been for the entire time she's been healing her partner. Sakura feels her breath leave her in a heavy sigh of relief. She ignores her Inner's insistent rambling about her worrying about Itachi more than subordinate should be worrying about their captain, or even a medic about her patient.

It is well into the early hours of the morning by the time Sakura finishes, going on nothing but soldier pills in hopes of somewhat restoring her drained chakra supply. She realizes too late that she'd also sustained some injuries from her fight—though nowhere near as severe as Itachi's—that she'd planned to fix up afterwards, but she's too exhausted and can't even focus enough to drag herself onto her side of the bed. Instead, she literally passes out cold on the cold hard floor beside the bed.

…..

Itachi wakes up gingerly nearly two hours after Sakura falls asleep and the first thing he notices is the tension and stiffness in his muscles usually associated with a long and particularly grueling healing session. He recalls the previous day's events as short remembrances, each just a quick glimpse of parts of his fight. He absently wonders where his partner is because he doesn't feel the familiar warmth of her body heat less than a foot away on her side of the bed, but his sleep-muddled mind registers that he _can _feel her chakra signature nearby, the question is, _where. _He sits up slowly, finding his sleeping partner on the ground, her hair strewn about haphazardly and he briefly wonders _why _she's there. The raven haired Uchiha carefully picks her up and places her on her side of the bed lightly before reclaiming his spot beside her, not a foot away.

He tucks the blankets around her lightly, carefully not to wake her, and it is only then that he notices the dark circles that mar her paler-than-usual face right underneath her eyes and the stlightly strained look she's wearing. He realizes that she must have exhausted herself to finish healing his injuries to the extent that she was unable to even numb her own injuries—after all, he _had_ found her on the floor sleeping. Itachi places a large hand over her forehead and lets his chakra flow through her, numbing her pain with his own chakra.

His eyes warm fondly at his now peacefully resting partner as he gently brushes a stray strand of hair from her face before bending down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. Only then does he allow himself to sink back into the pillows and go back to sleep.

0-0-0

Six weeks.

Six _damn_ weeksis how much longer Itachi and Sakura have to wait before they receive the long awaited offer to join the organization. In that time, they've immobilized a total of four out of their five targets, the last being Hasegawa Kajou, their primary target, and they've managed to discreetly eliminate countless members of the organization. But _finally, _they are inducted into what they've recently leaned is called Akuma.

They'd been in one of the headquarters disguised as a small bar and once again, they'd gotten into a fight, but it had been an assessment of sorts and before the fight was over, a man named Yoshida Ryou, who had been sent to inform them of the decision made by "the head," he had said, stopped the fight.

And that's how Sakura—or _Mai, _rather—finds herself roaming the impossible large underground network trying to find her living temporary quarters.

_Where's Itachi when you need him, anyway? _She wonders sourly.

The living quarters, they were told, are optional as none of the members are obliged to stay in the main hq. But of course they're going to take advantage of the offer and map the place out to send back to Konoha in a week when their next report is due. Mai can't help but shiver from the chill she has deep in her bones, because she can't escape the inexplicably _dark _and menacing aura she gets from being here.

She's just returned from a meeting with a man behind a mask whose name was not given—they'd just called him boss—about the goals, rules, and ways of Akuma, an orientation of sorts, she supposes. Of course, nothing short of world domination would please that man.

'_So typical, and _so _overrated,' _she finds herself thinking.

It seems Akuma already has spies in Rain and they're working on _infecting _every single great nation with their spies so in time, no country's or village's secrets are secrets—from military tactics to funds and mission offers—so Akuma can infiltrate each village easily. Mai had fist thought it was a over-ambitious and very nearly impossible, but after listening to 'The Boss', she can't help but feel that he's just crazy enough that he makes the whole idea possible. And it doesn't help that the little he had revealed about their plans and progress leads her to make the conclusion that it is very much possible; but that's why she and Itachi are here.

Still though, Itachi's an amazing ninja, no doubt about it, but she's just not good enough, nowhere near as skilled or experienced as her partner and she can't help but doubt herself in being able to help Itachi more than hinder him in completing this mission. But Tsunade-shishou had chosen her for this mission and she _will not _let her down.

But before she can come up with a brilliant tactical plan that will destroy this organization and its goals, and ultimately save the day, without having Itachi do all the work or getting in his way…

She has to first find her room…

…

A/N:

So, how was it? I think this would be my most productive chapter yet—in terms of moving on with the plot, and not to mention my favorite (: I'm extremely excited for summer vacation and school is finally over for the year, however, I'll be travelling for the next month and a bit, so I will not be able to update until early or mid august so I thought I'd make a slightly longer chapter to make up for it. Thank you for reading!

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

_Hope you enjoyed!_

~Ja!


	9. The Return

**_Beyond Words_**

_Chapter Nine: The Return_

_Enjoy! (:_

…

"Hokage-sama," Itachi says with a bow as he enters Tsunade's office.

"Shishou," Sakura says, following her superior's example.

The blonde nods her greetings and rests her chin atop her hands on the table. "It's good to have you two back. How has the mission been progressing?"

"We had made a move to try to make ourselves known to the organization, which we've recently discovered is called 'Akuma', with the intention of infiltrating it to give us an advantage. Just recently, we were approached by a man name Yoshida Ryou, A full report on him is included in the report," Itachi says, motioning to the written report they had submitted upon entry. "We were told that we had been watched and assessed in the previous weeks and were given a formal invitation to meet with 'The Boss', as they call him. We assume this 'Boss' to be our primary target, Hasegawa Kajou." Itachi goes on to explain the details of the past two months as Tsunade listens carefully. The three remain in the office for a few hours, deciding on the best course of action.

"Very well," Tsunade says, finally, "You will leave again in two days, at dawn. Sakura, please wait outside for a while, Uchiha, I need to speak with you."

Sakura inwardly wonders what they might need to speak about, but she follows her orders without a complaint. As soon as the door click shut, Tsunade turns to the other occupant of the room.

"Have there been any incidents concerning Sakura being targeted?"

Itachi goes to explain the time when Sakura had fallen ill and gives the Hokage the medical aspects and how he had managed to fix the issue.

"Hm, that's troubling," the busty blonde says, half to herself. "Keep an eye on her and if anything suspicious happens, no matter how minor, report it back immediately. Understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Itachi answers dutifully.

Tsunade sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose in stress. "Very well, you're dismissed."

Itachi nods his head and head towards the door to find Sakura waiting for him.

"What did she say?" Sakura asks curiously.

"Nothing of importance," Itachi fibs.

...

"Sakura-chan!"

The pink-haired medic turns at a familiar voice's call, "Naruto!" Without warning, her blonde teammate jumps onher, nearly knocking her on her butt in the middle of Konoha's streets. Behind him is the rosette's other heart's brother.

"Sakura," he greets which she returns with her customary 'Sasuke-kun' and then he turns to her companion. "Nii-san," he regards with a nod.

"Sasuke," Itachi says at her side. Sakura doesn't notice the way her partner tenses at the arrival of her two friends, though Sasuke seems to notice and responds by giving his respected nii-san a pointed look.

This is _just a bit _awkward, she decides, to have Sasuke and Itachi together, while she's there, given her and Itachi's…situation. They still hadn't brought up the issue of that one night and what they're supposed to do about it, but Itachi's been much more _teasing _lately and seems to enjoy putting her in uncomfortable positions. She had believed that whatever it was he was feeling would eventually go away, but it's been quite some time and he doesn't seem to be showing any signs of simply dropping it.

"How long are you back for this time, Sakura-chan?" Naruto, who seems oblivious of the other two, asks after finally letting go of her and effectively pulling her from her thoughts.

"About two days, we just finished giving our report to Tsunade-shishou and we get a bit of a break, then we're back at it."

"Well that means we're going to have two days of partying and catching up! Isn't that right, teme?" he nudges his friend in the chest.

"Stop calling me that, dobe," the younger Uchiha slaps Naruto's head none too lightly in a way he'll never admit to be affectionate. "They're tired and will probably just want to rest."

Sakura sighs regretfully, "He's right, Naruto. Well, I don't know about Itachi, but I'm so exhausted. Having Itachi as a partner is _not _easy." Seeing the blonde's face fall sadly, Sakura quickly adds, "But how about dinner tonight?"

"Of course! Ichiraku like always," the blonde proclaims far too loudly for her tired mind, but she nods cheerfully nonetheless while Sasuke just gives his usual nod, hitting the blonde once more.

"Shut up, you're too loud."

At this, the two begin bickering again which ends in another challenge, which is most likely another death match. Too tired to put up with her partners' childish antics, she leaves them alone and Itachi seems content to simply follow her.

"Have you gone home yet?" Sakura asks. "Mikoto-san must be worried to pieces about you and she'll want to know that you're back."

"I will return in time for dinner," he tells her.

"Oh, what're you going to do till then?" the pinkette looks up at her partner, bemused.

"It is about time for lunch," he says, his usual smirk back in its place. Sakura is immediately on guard, knowing that smirk can only mean bad news for her, but before she can voice her concern, Itachi lightly places a hand on her back, ushering her through the large crowd of people. "Come."

Too dumbstruck at the fact that Itachi is consciously, willingly, _voluntarily_ initiating unnecessary physical contact, to reply, she simply allows him to lead her through the streets. They arrive at a quaint western style restaurant soon enough and they are seated near the back, as usual, and place their orders. It is only then that Sakura gets her voice back, though she doesn't confront him about their earlier contact, which, she distantly notes, had been gentle enough to seem almost affectionate.

"So I was thinking, when we get back, we should—"

"Enough about work," Itachi easily interrupts.

This surprises her, for Itachi's always been all about his work and the fact that he's silencing her must mean that he has something else on his mind. However, when he doesn't say anything else and merely watches her intently with his piercing charcoal eyes, she starts to fidget uncomfortably under his gaze. She starts fiddling with the salt and pepper shakers so she has something else to focus her attention to, instead of glancing at every part of the restaurant except her partner.

"Sakura—" Itachi says after some time, but he's interrupted when their food I placed on the table between them.

"Here are your orders," the waiter says kindly. A flash of something unrecognizable passes through Itachi's eyes briefly as he thanks the waiter for their food.

"What were you—" Sakura starts but is cut off by Itachi for the second time.

"Eat."

The petite medic simply watches her partner, bemused, but eventually dismisses it. If he doesn't want to tell her, there's nothing she can do to get it out of him, so she nods and enjoys her meal.

They talk about inconsequential matters and their conversation easily makes Sakura forget about the awkward tension between them before. She distantly notes that this is actually really nice, and perhaps they should do this more often, just go out for lunch for no particular reason. She really doesn't understand why Itachi doesn't have more friends, because he's actually surprisingly friendly and a very good companion, when he isn't constantly teasing her and makes half an effort to be, that is.

After the meal, Sakura reaches for her wallet, but Itachi beats her to it and places more than enough money on the table to cover both their meals.

"You really didn't have to, you know," Sakura says, but she knows his male ego will never allow him to be treated by another, especially a _girl_. "But thanks."

Itachi simply nods and makes his way towards the exit. She follows him out and she realizes that he's walking in the opposite direction of the Uchiha compound.

"Ne, Itachi," she says as she falls into step beside him, "Where are you going? Your place is back that way," she motions behind her.

The Uchiha looks down at his partner then, unaware of the way his undivided attention always makes her stomach erupt with butterflies. "I believe I said I'd be home in time for dinner, it's not nearly time for that yet."

"Right, so where are you going now?"

"Hokage-sama had an apartment prepared for you on our return and that is where you will be living from now on. She asked me to show you where it is, and to give this to you." Itachi reaches into his pocket and pulls out the key to her new apartment.

"Oh, thank you."

"I have done nothing to earn your gratitude. It is the Hokage who deserves it."

"Right, I'll talk to her before we leave." Itachi walks her to her new home and he leaves her to rest.

Sakura closes the door of her new apartment and can't help the wistful sigh that leaves her body. It is a beautiful home, modern, well furnished, and very quaint. However, it's no replacement to her old home, not even close. She rubs her eyes with the back of her hand to stop the tears from spilling over, hating herself for having to do so in the first place. The apartment suddenly feels too large, too lonely and Sakura wants nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep for the rest of the day.

Momentarily forgetting her date with her old team—because she's sure the two have told Kakashi about dinner by now—she lays down on the soft downy sheets of her new bed and falls asleep almost immediately.

…_Training Ground Six…_

Itachi, having just finished his training, sits down under a tree to rest for a few minutes. He closes his eyes and simply listens, an activity he'd previously found unproductive and quite frankly, useless, but Sakura had gotten him into the habit of doing it and eventually, he'd realized that it helped to simply _relax _every now and then. Besides, being in hostile territory for so long had been tiring and now, being in his native country, Itachi no longer feels the need to constantly have his guard up.

Not five minutes after _relaxing, _Itachi feels a familiar chakra signature approaching.

"Outoto," he stands and regards his younger brother.

"Nii-san," Sasuke returns. "I thought you would be tired, why are you not at home resting?" He would never admit it, but Sasuke looks up to his brother as a hero and is constantly worrying over him, especially since the clan is so inconsiderate of his well-being; they only care about his abilities and their position in the village.

The elder Uchiha simply shakes his head, "I am fine."

Sasuke nods and they begin walking, though the destination is unknown to either of them.

"Ne, nii-san, about Sakura…" Itachi lifts an eyebrow, somewhat amused at his brother's suddenly timid tone, "Are you, I mean, do you….Do you like her?"

The elder Uchiha simply smirks, "She is," he pauses to find an appropriate word, "different, unique. I am quite interested in her."

Whatever Sasuke had been expecting, it was definitely _not _that. He asked out of curiosity, but he hadn't expected his brother to actually have feelings for his female teammate. Either that or he hadn't even expected his brother to tell the truth about it. "Is there something between you two? Does she know? How does she feel about you?" He asks, his disbelief apparent in his tone.

"There is not. Perhaps you should ask her yourself."

Sasuke has no reply to this, so he simply remains quiet. His stoic brother, who has turned down countless women—all very pretty and very accomplished—is now interested in his only female partner and one of his best friends. Sakura, who is very bossy, low-tempered, outright _mean_ sometimes, had caught the attention of the most sought for man in Konoha. But Sasuke supposes that Itachi needs someone like Sakura to keep him…_entertained_. His elder brother needs someone with a backbone, not a woman who will simply do as he pleases and cater to his every wish. After all, Itachi always did love a challenge, and claiming Sakura as his own will be a challenge he has never imagined. Sasuke has seen many men attempt, and fail miserably to capture Sakura's attention, and he's rather interested to see how it will turn out between his brother and his partner; interested, and rather worried.

…

_Knock, knock._

Sakura's eyes open blearily as she registers the knocking at her door. Who could be visiting her now? She didn't even know where she lived until earlier today so how do other people know? Groaning unhappily, she slowly lifts her tired body from the warmth of the bed and begins making her way there.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto beams with his bright smile after she opens the door. Leave it to Naruto to dispel any loneliness with just that smile.

"Naruto," she greets with a smile of her own, "Please, come in."

The energetic blonde eagerly enters her home and follows Sakura to the kitchen where she prepares them both tea.

"So how do you like it? You new home, I mean," he asks her.

"It's great. It's exactly the kind of apartment I saw myself living in when I was a kid," Sakura smiles wistfully at the memory of her sharing her house plans with her mother when she was younger. "How did you know I live here now, anyway?" she asks, snapping out of her reverie.

"Who do you think decorated this place?" He gives her another bright smile and speaks again before she can answer. "Teme, sensei, Neji, and I have been fixing this place up for a week!"

Sakura lifts an eyebrow at the mention of her Hyuuga friend. "Neji, huh? That's…kind of weird." The two had gotten fairly close over the years because he was another regular patient at the hospital and most of the difficult ones would be given to her, and above this, he had worked as her captain very often and they'd developed a strong friendship.

"Yeah. I thought so too, but who were we to turn down someone who wanted to help, ne?"

"I guess. Well, thank you, Naruto, I love it." She offers him a hug, which he returns eagerly, after placing his tea in front of him. They catch up a little bit like Naruto had wanted, but dinner time approaches soon enough and they make their way down to Ichiraku.

"Oy, Sasuke-teme, Kaka-sensei," Naruto calls out once their black and silver heads, respectively, are in view. He never did fall out of the habit of calling Kakashi his sensei. Old habits die hard, Sakura supposes.

"Sakura, it's been a while," Kakashi greets with his usual eye-crinkle-smile-_thing, _and Sakura offers him a hug. "How have you been?"

"I've been good," and she goes into her many stories of the mission. They talk for many hours, laughing, talking, and catching up. At one point, Naruto had brought up a particular instance when Sasuke had been 'worrying his ass off,' as he so charmingly put it. They'd read a report she had sent after a particularly gruesome day when they were hunting for their fourth target. They had come out of that battle both literally half dead, but of course, they had pulled through in the end. The details and each of their injuries were included in the report and apparently, after Sasuke had read it, he destroyed the apple he had been holding and had none-too-gently asked how they were at the moment. For the rest of the day, he had been unapproachable, unless one wanted to risk breaking a few bones for even looking at the brooding Uchiha. Of course Sasuke denies all of this ever happening, and the others simply laugh at him.

"But you know Sasuke-kun, you should really tell your brother to stop getting himself nearly killed. It's not easy for the medic either, constantly having to wipe up his blood and stuff his organs back into his half dead body. You're his precious Outoto, he'll listen to you." Sakura tells her partner half-jokingly.

"Perhaps you should tell him yourself," he tells her with a pointed look that catches her off guard. "He might listen to you over me."

Sakura's eyes sharpen at his implication. Did he know just what happened between them? Well, nothing _really _happened, but still… Of course, knowing Kakashi, he picked up on it too, though he's never seen her and Itachi interact after the mission, he must have drawn his own conclusions from what Sasuke had said.

"Teme's probably right, Sakura-chan," Naruto says suddenly, causing Sakura to stiffen further. Does _Naruto,_ of all people, know too! Had she been that obvious earlier today? "You're his medic after all," he continues. Sakura has to fight to keep a relieved sigh from escaping her, lest she risk their further suspicion.

"Well," Sakura waves her hand in a dismissive manner, "He definitely hasn't been listening to me." At this, she and her teammates exchange stories on their many near-death experiences for another hour before calling it a night.

She walks out into the dimly lit streets, making her way back to her new home to get a good night's rest, when she sees a familiar blonde head making its way towards her.

"Forehead!" Ino calls.

"Ino-pig!" Sakura calls back, closing the remaining distance between them and offering her heart's sister a hug, which she returns immediately.

"How are you? It's been ages since we've talked last." The blonde links her arms around her best friend, leading them to a small park bench by the edge of the small river. "The night is young and we're going to sit here and make up for lost time, forehead. So spill, what's new?"

Sakura proceeds to tell Ino about her mission, carefully leaving out the part about Itachi's…interest. Why get her worked up about something temporary? When she gets to the part about her being sick, Ino thoroughly freaks out for her friend.

"Sick? And you couldn't fix it yourself? Forehead, that's dangerous! Did you get that checked out?"

Sakura can't help but smile warmly at her best friend's heartfelt concern, much like her mother. "I'm fine, Ino, really."

"Fine, but I'm trusting you to get that checked up if it becomes a problem again… Anyway, I have something to tell you, Forehead."

Sakura senses the subtle change in atmosphere and suddenly becomes curious at her friend's serious tone. "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"I'm going to tell Itachi about my feelings," the blonde says with sheer determination in her eyes.

Sakura is completely stunned for all of two seconds before she manages to regain her composure. "You…you really like him?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like it could work out, you know? Like it's just…mean to be. I mean, I know I haven't gotten to know him that well, but if I did…well I can't explain it."

"Ino, maybe you should get to know him before you confess your undying love to him," Sakura snorts, changing the atmosphere to a lighter one. "I mean, he's such an ass sometimes. He'll say things just to get a rise out of you and that's his form of amusement."

"Everyone has their quirks, forehead. Besides, I didn't call it love," she says, hitting her friend on the arm playfully.

"Not yet, that is," Sakura adds. "I know you, pig. I'm not your best friend for nothing."

"Seriously though, what do you think?"

"Honestly? Well, anything could happen I guess… It's just unexpected that's all. But hey, if you can catch his attention, maybe it could work out."

Sakura hears her friend sigh in a way that seems wistful. "You're lucky, forehead. You get to spend all your time with him for the next couple of months. If I were you, I'd already be head over heels for him, and here you are complaining about him. I don't get it."

"Well I've known him enough beforehand that his 'charm' doesn't quite work," the pinkette says with a slight giggle. She doesn't want to see her friend get hurt when Itachi doesn't return her feelings, but she knows that nothing she says will deter her friend from confessing to him. Ino's not really asking for permission or reassurance, she's just asking for an opinion.

"Hm…what about you, forehead? Have you taken interest in anyone?"

_'You have no idea,' _Sakura finds herself thinking. "Not really," she says instead, "Nearly getting killed several times keeps me busy."

"Well, when this mission of yours is over, we're going clubbing and we're going to find you a man," Ino says as she stands up. "It's been nice talking to you. I gotta get home though. It's nearly two and I have the early shift tomorrow at the shop." Sakura nods, standing up as well. "Take care and be careful out there, kay forehead?" The blonde hugs her friend tightly before heading off.

"Thanks Ino, I will."

…

Sakura yawns tiredly as she places her new apartment keys on the counter before heading the bathroom to clean up and get ready for bed. She had stayed out longer than she expected; it's now past two in the morning and she's beyond exhausted. However, the pinkette just can't seem to get her mind to rest. She's constantly worrying about what to do with Itachi…and now Ino too, not to mention her teammates' suspicion. Also, seeing her fox brother again reminds her that he's in danger because of the kyuubi resting inside him. She hates that she can't be in Konoha with him because the research and investigation department had been saying that Akatsuki is actively searching out the tailed beasts and it's only a matter of time until they go after Naruto. But she trusts her shishou, Kaka-sensei, Sasuke, and all of Konoha to keep him safe.

She sighs unhappily before getting out of bed and walking to the window to look out at her moonlit village. The silence of nighttime is settled over the peaceful village and the moonlight serves to shed light upon the still streets.

"Kaa-san, Tou-san…" Sakura hears herself speaking into the window, her weakened voice strange and unfamiliar to her ears, "I wish you were here, I miss you so much." She doesn't know what had triggered it, but the sudden bout of loneliness that has settled over her is so overwhelming that she can hardly keep the tears at bay.

Sakura decides a brief midnight stroll might help to clear her mind and finally allow her some sleep, so with that thought in mind, she puts on a jacket and sandals and heads out the door. The cool breeze brushes past her thin frame, causing her to pull her jacket closer around her body as she roams the streets, her feet unconsciously taking her to a certain red bridge. She halts there, watching her reflection ripple slightly in the slowly running water beneath her. Its nights like these that Sakura misses her parents so much and the ache in her chest is so strong she swears the pain is physical. She simply watches her dull reflection and wills her mind to stop thinking so much.

…

The Uchiha heir walks through the darkened streets of Konoha on his way back home after a brief midnight training session when he catches a brief glance of pink. He immediately knows the source of pink and briefly wonders what she's doing out at this hour before heading in that direction. She stops at the bridge her remembers his brother's team used to meet at and simply watches her reflection in the water beneath her. She's in her pajamas and he infers that she'd been getting ready for bed prior to her midnight stroll. Itachi contemplates on approaching her, but decides it would be best to leave her alone. She seems troubled and if he were in her situation, he would prefer to be left by himself. But just as he turns to leave, he hears a small catch in her breath that comes when one is crying. He turns back to see that his assumptions are correct and she is, indeed, in tears. He feels a familiar tightening in his chest that usually comes when he sees her troubled or in pain. Before he knows it, his legs are moving towards his partner and he stops directly behind her.

"Sakura," he calls gently. He notes the way she stiffens at his voice and rapidly brushes the tears out of her eyes.

"I-Itachi," she says weakly, refusing to turn to meet him. They simply stand in silence for what feels like eternity, but in reality is only a few minutes.

He doesn't know what posses him to do it, and he's sure he'll spend a good day or two contemplating on his actions later on, but he can't find it in himself to simply watch her cry and not do anything about it. He places a warm hand on her shoulder and gently guides her to face him, catching her stunned expression briefly before he gathers her into his arms and holds her to his chest. Sakura feels her voice die in her throat and she simply stares at Itachi's chest, bewildered and thoroughly confused. Her first thought is to leave the circle of his arms and go far, far away, but the way his hands are rubbing her back so comfortingly immediately banishes any thoughts of escaping from her mind and she slowly relaxes into his hold. Something like this would be okay with any of her other friends, but coming from Itachi is damn near impossible. Sakura briefly wonders that if there had been no feelings or anything between her and her partner, would they have made a strong enough friendship that things like this would be acceptable? Why then, does the presence of _feelings_ change the circumstances between them?

The petite medic's mind is simply too tired and too muddled to wonder what this will do to their relationship hereafter, so she finally allows her body to sink into Itachi's comfortably, resting her head against his shoulder and simply enjoying the comfort he provides. Sakura knows the embrace is meant to comfort her, but the more she relaxes into his arms, the more she feels the tears gather in her eyes, making it harder to hold them back. She works up the courage to return the embrace, needing something to hold onto to keep her legs from giving out from under her. She can no longer hold in the tears and she silently cries into his chest, clinging onto him for dear life.

Itachi doesn't know what else he can do for the petite woman in his arms, clearly in pain. He hates the feeling of helplessness, but there's nothing he can say or do that could possibly ease her pain because he has no idea what had caused her to become this way in the first place. She feels unnaturally small in his arms and her shaking does nothing to ease his anxious mind. He simply continues brushing his fingers through her hair in an attempt to soothe her, even just a little bit. He knows he can never be what Naruto-kun, Kakashi-sempai, or Sasuke is to her because they all share a bond that no one can break. It is not his place to soothe her aching heart for she has never given any indication that she may feel the same towards him as he does to her. She is easily flustered, but Sakura has always been naturally that way, so he cannot say it is because she shares his feelings. Itachi's always been able to read people exceptionally well, but with Sakura, his radar gets thrown off. He thinks perhaps there is a future for them, but he finds himself wondering if perhaps he's just hoping for too much, seeing something that isn't there simply because he wishes it to be. There are a million and one reasons why he should give up on Sakura, and he thought he had already decided that against these odds, he will continue to pursue her, but at times like these, his helplessness in the situation makes him second guess his intentions. If after all the time they've spent together, she still feels that she cannot open herself up to him to let him in and let him help, then what hope does he have?

Of course, being the socially and emotionally challenged person that he is, Itachi completely misses that fact that Sakura has indeed opened herself up to him more than he believes because she is able to cry in front of him and she returned his embrace instead of shying away from it.

What hope is there for these two?

…

_Thank you for reading!_

A/N:

Thank you soo much for your patience. It's been so long since I've updated. I just returned from my trip about a week and a half ago. Pleeaassee give me your feedback about this chapter. I'm suuper interested in what my readers have to say about this. I'll try to get another installment in before the end of the month so look forward to it. Once again, THANKS! J J

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

_Hope you enjoyed!_

~Ja!


	10. Sealed

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Ten: Sealed  
_

_Enjoy! (:_

…

The two remain that way for an indefinite amount of time, Sakura crying soundlessly into the chest of her partner, Uchiha Itachi, as he strokes her hair gently under the light of the moon. Had the mood not been so melancholy, the current scene has the potential to be romantic. But as it is, Sakura's tears are the farthest thing from romantic.

Itachi feels her grip slacken and her arms drop to her sides. He loosens his hold on her only enough to get a good look at her, not letting go of her fully. He says nothing as he takes in her puffy red eyes and downcast gaze.

"Thank you," she says after sometime, looking up to meet his gaze for the first time. He inclines his head and once he decides that she is fine to stand on her own, he steps away from her and lets his gaze run over her shaking form. He knows he needs to say something, to break the silence and attempt to comfort her, but he's never been the type to 'be there' for people and he doesn't know what one would say in this particular situation.

"I will walk you home," he says at last, abandoning the idea of attempting to reassure her that things will be fine.

"You don't—" the rosette starts.

"Come," Itachi says, guiding her to her new home, effectively silencing her oncoming protest.

They walk back in a silence that is more than a little bit awkward. Itachi walks her to her door and waits as she fumbles with her keys and unlocks the door. When she doesn't immediately walk in, he cocks his head to the side a quarter of an inch, betraying his curiosity at her behavior.

"Um, thanks Itachi. Really," Sakura says timidly, slowly turning to look up at her partner. "I'm sorry that you're always the one to have to deal with these breakdowns of mine," she tells him in a voice so soft it could almost qualify as a whisper. Itachi says nothing for a while and simply watches her, making Sakura fidget slightly under his gaze.

"Do you wish to speak about it?" He asks finally.

Sakura drops her gaze to the ground between them and shakes her head. "No," he hears her say in a choked voice and immediately he knows that the tears have begun to gather in her eyes once more. In response, he steps forward, bridging the gap between them and places a hand on the back of her neck. He feels her tense but it does not deter him. He bends down and places as chaste kiss on her forehead for a brief second and before Sakura can say or do anything, he lets her go and steps away once more.

"Very well, get some rest. It is late," He says in his usual straight tenor, as if he hadn't just invaded her bubble and did….well, _that! _

Unsure of what to do and a little bit stunned, Sakura can only nod as she turns around and opens the door to her home.

"Good night Itachi, " she hears herself say as she walks in.

"Good night," He replies as she closes the door behind her. "Sleep well," he adds after she is gone, before turning towards his own home for some well deserved rest.

…

A million and one thoughts pass through Sakura's mind after she gets into her apartment, but she is so exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally, that she cannot even form a single coherent thought. She collapses onto the too soft bed and is asleep before her head even hits the pillow. Yesterday's problems are still today's problems, and will continue to be tomorrow's problems. There's no need agonizing over it when she still has all of tomorrow to do so.

…_The Next Day…_

"Uchiha-sama! Uchiiiiiha-samaaa!" Itachi's steps slow to a stop at the _obnoxious _voice calling after him. The owner of the voice and her friends, have been following him not-so-stealthily for the past ten minutes.

"Ah, Uchiha-sama," Itachi finds himself absolutely loathing that name at this moment, "We've finally caught up to you!" 'We' being a young blonde chuunin, no older than 17 years of age, and two black-haired jounin, one about the age of twenty, and the other perhaps a year or two older, he'd say.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He asks, trying his hardest to be polite, when all he wants to do is go far, far away from them. Of course, his father and the clan would not be pleased if they were to hear that the precious heir to the clan was tarnishing the Uchiha name.

"I'm sure you know about the get-together happening later this evening in the village club," the blonde starts, but is interrupted by the eldest of the three.

"And I was wondering if you'd like to attend with me," the jounin asks in a nasally voice which makes Itachi cringe inwardly. The two beside look bewildered and open their mouths to say something but a single look from her shuts their mouths.

Kakashi-sempai had told him about it earlier that day, saying it would be a good way to relax before leaving again, and he had agreed to go. However, he had not anticipated someone asking him to attend the event with them as a date.

"Ah, thank you for the offer, but I will be attending by myself," Itachi says politely without regret, even as the ladies' faces fall in disappointment. By this time next week, they will have forgotten about it completely and will either continue their sad obsession with renewed vigor, or move on to someone more readily available, seeing as he will be gone for the next two months.

The three girls walk off looking dejected and Itachi simply continues on his way to a small secluded spring on the outskirts of the village for some long overdue meditation. Sakura has been on his mind far too much these past few months, and more so ever since last night and he realizes he needs to clear his mind of her if he is to continue the mission efficiently.

…

Sakura groans grumpily at the sunlight that insists on slipping in through her bedroom window and waking her up far too early on a day off. By the time she'd fallen asleep it was well past three and she had hoped to get at least eight or nine hours of sleep. But the early six o'clock sunrise prevents her from doing so. The petite medic, already too awake to go back to sleep, gets up from her warm bed and makes her way to the washroom to wash up.

The warm water does its part to wake her up completely and her mind drifts to earlier that morning. Not for the first time, she'd let her emotions take over and once again making her out to be a weakling in Itachi's eyes. But she doesn't know what to make of the latest turn of events. Itachi had voluntarily hugged her. Does this mean that his attraction to her isn't as temporary as she'd first believed? Of course, she couldn't really see Itachi as being the type to move from one person to another for as long as he is entertained. But at the same time, he's an Uchiha, and not just any Uchiha, but _Itachi _Uchiha. Someone like that has no business slumming it with some average kunoichi with no shinobi history. Other than her father, she had been the only one in the Haruno family tree to choose the life of a ninja. So why would the Uchiha heir, possibly one of the most talented ninja to be produced in the Leaf, waste his time on her?

"Shit," Sakura swears under her breath. Lost in her thoughts, she'd gotten shampoo in her eye.

'_Great start,' _Inner Sakura mutters.

Seriously though, what is she supposed to do now? Now even more frustrated, Sakura leaves this train of thought and finishes up with her shower.

Itachi is strictly off-limits because Ino is practically in love with him.

'_Despite not even knowing him on a first name basis,' _Inner Sakura adds.

But the point is, she needs to just shake this _attraction _or whatever it is that's been clouding her better judgment. If she's going to complete this mission without getting herself or her partner killed, she's going to need to be completely focused.

So there, case closed.

And then she sees the hair ribbon he'd gotten her for her birthday a while back and remembers her birthday. They'd taken the day off and Itachi took her out for the day in the village. They'd done some shopping that day and Itachi treated her for dinner. On the way to dinner, she stopped by a shop and admired the beautiful hair ribbon in the window. It was so much like the one she had as a child, but she'd thrown in out after she cut her hair because it reminded her of her vain past. This ribbon, however, was tucked away safely as soon as she received it for fear of losing or dirtying it. Her birthday had been before all of this confusion and tension between them started, so it was a gift of friendship, nothing more. So wearing it would not mean anything other than, _'I'm your friend and I happen to like the birthday present you gave me.' _Besides, it's a beautiful ribbon and never using it would be the same as throwing it out, which is such a waste. So maybe she'll wear it to Itachi's surprise early birthday party tonight.

Being such an established shinobi in the village, everyone knows Itachi's birthday and everyone wants to celebrate it with him, especially the ladies, aka fangirls. But their mission will keep him out of the village for his special day so the village decided to celebrate it early this year. Although she's going to be with him for his actual birthday, it won't feel right being the only one not to give him a present today, so she decides that she's just going to have to give him his present today. At least she'll have something to occupy her time with today instead of just sitting on her new sofa like dead weight waiting for time to pass.

…_Later that evening_…

"Forehead!" Sakura hears Ino's muffled voice call from the other side of her door, "Open up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Sakura mutters on her way to get the door. Upon doing so, she sees Ino, clearly dressed to impress. The party is somewhere between semi-formal and formal, and Ino had gone far off into the formal end.

"You look amazing," Sakura says sheepishly, slightly embarrassed that she's going to be going to the party with such a magnificently dressed _goddess. _She's wearing a gorgeous strapless deep blue silk gown reaching to the ground even in her four inch stiletto heels. The dress has traces of golden threads in a design she can't quite explain running across the chest which accentuates her platinum blonde hair, along with a simple golden ribbon at the waist and a large flower on the left side of her chest like a corsage. Her hair is pinned up in an intricate bun with a few rivulets of hair framing her face. All in all, Sakura feels as though she's staring at a princess straight out of a fairytale.

In response, Ino whistles appreciatively. "You're looking good yourself, forehead," she says as she runs her eyes over Sakura. The pinkette is wearing a simpler haltered red dress which hugs her body in the most flattering way and flows loosely at the waist down, reaching to the point just above her knees. Of course only Sakura could make the color of passion looking so innocent. She's wearing light gold heels and her hair is curled loosely and tied to the side with a delicate hair ribbon.

"Anyway, I'm going to do it. Tonight," Ino tells her with a determined look in her eyes and Sakura knows immediately that she means to tell Itachi her true feelings. This new piece of information only serves to make her stomach churn with unnamed feelings. One thing she does identify though, the heavy weight of being so, so ridiculously sorry. Sorry that she didn't tell Ino the full story, sorry that Itachi won't return her feelings, sorry that she's the reason for it, and sorry that, no matter how she denies it, she has feelings for him too.

Sakura smiles a smile she knows is forced, but hopes Ino won't notice, "Good luck, Ino."

The beautiful blonde simply nods, "Let's go, don't want to be late to say 'Surprise!' right?"

"Right," Sakura nods too and she picks her present up from the counter and they leave together. They leave their jackets in their respective homes, seeing as it's a warm night.

…

Itachi walks to the designated place for the 'get together' Kakashi-senpai had invited him to in a sharp tux with his hair in its usual loose ponytail at the base of his neck. He doesn't understand why he had been asked to dress up for such a thing as this and begins to suspect the true motives behind this party he's attending. However, it's far too late now to try and determine the real reason for this party and he figures the only way to find out is to go there and see for himself.

Upon arriving to the banquet hall, he notices that it's too quiet and stands before the giant double doors, trying to recall if this is, indeed, the place he's supposed to be at and if it's the right time. Knowing for certain that it is, he opens the doors and is greeted with confetti, noise-makers, banners, and most of all, many voices yelling 'Surprise!' It seems that Konoha had decided that they needed to celebrate his birthday early given his long term mission.

Itachi _is _surprised and wastes no time in thanking everyone for their kindness and assures everyone that he appreciates the time and effort they all put into planning the event. He spends the evening having birthday greetings and presents handed to him left and right.

"Bet you didn't expect that huh, Itachi?" One of his former partners, Hanayo, said to him.

"No, I certainly did not."

"Well happy birthday," she says with a smile.

Itachi thanks her and they begin to talk about the past and how foolish they had been, well, how foolish _she _had been. They spend a good deal of time together before the music starts to play and slowly, more and more couples take the dance floor, Hanayo being one of them. Itachi simply watches the crowd dancing and his eye catches Sakura, being asked to dance by a few men and he's pleased that she refuses their offers. He begins to make his way to her with every intention of asking her for a dance, but he is intercepted by the one he knows to be Ino.

"Itachi-san," she says pleasantly, "would you give me the honour of one dance?" He remembers Sakura telling him that this friend of hers had fancied him, but he had believed it to be a temporary thing. He looks over in the direction he had been initially going only to see that Kakashi has already taken Sakura's hand and is currently leading her to the dance floor. He looks back at the woman in front of him and decides that perhaps one dance can't hurt.

"Very well," he says and he takes her hand in his and places his other on her upper back instead of her waist, hoping perhaps that she'll get the message that he is not interested and he can avoid the confrontation. They begin to sway and Ino's head somehow makes it to his chest, making Itachi tense at the contact, but he is saved from having to hurt her feelings by asking her to remove her head, for the music ends not long after. He steps from her and she thanks him for the opportunity before rushing off to say she needs to use the ladies' room. Another song starts again and he looks into the crowd to look for his partner, hoping that she may allow him a dance.

…

"When are you leaving again?" Kakashi asks his only female student and they sway slowly to the music.

"Tomorrow at dawn," she answers. "You know, I already get enough death glares from women because of my close relationship to Sasuke-kun, I really don't need more from your fan girls." At this, Kakashi only laughs. "You owe me one, sensei. If it weren't for me, you'd be hiding in a corner hiding from the hundred and one girls chasing after you."

"Ah, touché Sakura-chan," he says lightly. The petite woman simply rolls her eyes at his false affection. He always gets like that when he needs a favour. "When you return, I'll treat you to dinner. I'll be sure to invite Sasuke and Naruto," he continues.

"I'll hold you to that then."

Kakashi twirls her out, and she loses her footing in her high heels, lightly hitting someone's shoulders and she feels the stranger catch her by the shoulders.

"Oh I'm so sorry—" she says, turning around, only to come face to face with the birthday celebrant.

"May I?" he says, looking over at her former partner.

"She's all yours," Kakashi says with his signature eye-crinkle before walking off to get a drink.

'No, no, no!' Sakura says inwardly. She had avoided Itachi all evening, save for wishing him a happy birthday. She still doesn't know how to act around him after last night, and as much as she had previously told herself that she _isn't _attracted to him, she knows she is. This attraction, however, is forbidden, given the nature of her best friend's feelings towards him and she really doesn't want to be around him until she can figure out what to do.

She chances a glance at Itachi and sees that he's patiently waiting for her, hand offered to her. She looks around to see if there is any chance of escape, and partially to see if Ino is anywhere near. Seeing that she isn't, and unable to find any excuse to leave, Sakura takes the offered hand lightly and places her other hand on his shoulder. Itachi takes her waist and pulls her closer to him so that there is little space in between them.

Sakura does her best to avoid his gaze and simply stares at the folds in his jacket. She ignores his penetrating gaze and awkwardly follows his lead. The rest of the dance is very awkward for Sakura and Itachi can easily see her discomfort. He figures she is unsure of how to interact with him now after last night. To be honest, he himself doesn't know how they should proceed. Wanting to speak with her about the matter, he leads her outside into the quiet little balcony area after the song finishes.

"Wait—where, Itachi what are you doing?" Sakura asks hesitantly.

He doesn't answer and continues to lead her by the waist to the secluded area. Once they get outside, Sakura glances around, seeing that they're alone. She goes through her head looking for any possible excuses to escape, none of which are plausible. Lost in her thoughts, she doesn't realize Itachi coming closer until he reaches out and takes a lock of her hair in his hands. Startled and flustered at his proximity, she gasps but is unable to form any words.

"You are wearing the ribbon," Itachi points out, her hair still in his hand.

"Uh—yeah, I am…" Sakura trails off, looking down at her shoes. He lets go of her hair only to tilt her chin up to face him.

"What is bothering you?" His voice is so quiet and calm, and so gentle, that Sakura's heart melts a little at his concern.

She blushes cutely and stutters, "U-um, nothing. I'm absolutely fine." The way she behaves reminds Itachi of the Hyuuga heiress and wonders what it is that has caused her to be this way. Sakura tries to step away but the Uchiha heir doesn't let her. He wraps and arm around her waist and holds her to him. He refuses to let this opportunity to figure out what they are to pass.

Sakura's blush intensifies and her eyes widen in surprise. She's torn between feeling guilty for cheating her best friend and rejoicing at her current situation. She stares into Itachi's usually stoic, unfeeling eyes, and sees a hundred and one things pass through their beautiful onyx depths, but she's unable to put a name to a single one.

They stay like that for a long time, but eventually, Itachi lowers his head with every intention of kissing her. He pauses right before their lips touch to see if she will react violently, but she's too stunned (and half of her wants this _so_ badly) to move away, and Itachi interprets this as permission to lower his head all the way.

Closing his eyes, he seals his lips to Sakuras.

…

A/N:

Well, there it is! School's been keeping me busy so I wasn't able to get this chapter out as soon as I'd hoped. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted this chapter to go, whether or not Itachi was going to attempt to convey his feelings to Sakura, and whether or not Ino was going to confess.

So see how it ends in the next chapter! Whenever that happens… *sweatdrop

Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me !

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

_Hope you enjoyed!_

~Ja!


	11. The Response

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Eleven: The Response_

_Enjoy! (:_

…

Sakura freezes completely at the contact in shock, half wondering if this is some kind of hallucination, dream—or nightmare, or her imagination. She feels as though they've been standing like this for eternity, when in reality, they've only been this way for half a second. She doesn't pull away immediately, but she does not respond either. Itachi moves his lips against hers to try to coax a response from her and this seems to snaps Sakura back into her rational mind, if only a little bit. She pushes against his chest half-heartedly, not _really _wanting him to let her go, and a small part of Sakura hopes he doesn't. As if reading her mind, Itachi does not let her go, but pulls her flush against him. The hand that had previously been on her chin slides to the back of her neck to get better leverage and he gently nibbles on Sakrua's bottom lip. She gasps at the sensation, giving him an opportunity to slide his tongue into her warm cavern. The sparks that come from the contact makes Sakura pray to any greater power that may exist, that this would go on forever; that she could be _allowed _to enjoy this without the guilt of knowing that Ino claims to love him, and without the uncertainty and doubt she feels. The petite kunoichi, however, still does not move; caught between loyalty to Ino and loyalty to her heart, she is _unable_ to move, unable to decide whether to give in or shove him away and run as far away as her four inch heels will allow. Vexed at her unresponsiveness, he holds her even closer to him and tilts her head back to get a better angle and deepens the kiss. Unable to fight it any longer, Sakura's eyes drift closed and she slides her arms to rest around his neck, responding to his kiss shyly. He applies a bit of extra pressure on her lower back to show his approval at her response.

Sakura finally allows herself to enjoy this, to believe—if only for a little while—that this could actually turn into something. Just as she moves her arms to rest around his neck, however, she hears a gasp and she just _knows_ it's Ino without having to turn to see. Before she knows what's happened, she quickly moves away from Itachi and out of the circle of his arms, looking wide-eyed at her best friend who seems to be caught between anger and tears, making her look unnaturally fragile.

"Ino—" Sakura starts.

"Save it," the beautiful blonde cuts her off, venom dripping from her voice. "I should have known." She glares daggers at Sakura despite the tears that have started to gather in her eyes, but says nothing more, as if waiting for an explanation that would prove her innocence. The silence and disapproval somehow makes Sakura feel worse than she would have if Ino had just yelled at her all night. Seeing that Sakura had nothing left to say, Ino storms inside and disappears into the throng of people.

Momentarily forgetting that Itachi is standing right beside her, Sakura makes a move to follow her friend, but freezes when a firm hand grabs her wrist. She turns to see a puzzled looking Itachi. Merely looking at him reminds her of her ultimate betrayal and it takes all of her will power not to recoil at the contact for fear of offending him.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," she says before rushing off quickly, not giving him a chance to say anything. Sakura feels guilty for just leaving him there, but she feels even guiltier for having been there with him in the first place. She should have played it safe and avoided him the entire night, at least that way, she wouldn't have gotten tangled up in this mess. However, she can't help but admit that the entire exchange had left her feeling breathless and thinking back on it, trying to ignore Ino's part in the night, she had actually enjoyed her evening with him. Despite her constant denial of her feelings, she was still drawn to him and unable to resist his advances. Or perhaps it's _because _she had never acknowledged her feelings that they came on so strongly. Whatever it is though, she needs to figure out how to get rid of it, if she has any hope of salvaging her friendship with Ino.

Inner Sakura reminds her that she still has several months with Itachi and the mission, but she pushes that to the back of her mind. Her first priority for now is salvaging her friendship with Ino.

Itachi eventually re-enters the banquet hall but makes no move to look for Sakura. He knows she's out looking for Ino and does not want to get in the way of and her friend's conversation. He feels slightly responsible for what had happened, but he is by no means regretting the encounter. He had waited for a long time to be able to hold Sakura and kiss her like that, and she had reciprocated, meaning that she had feelings for him too, even if only a little bit. But that's enough for Itachi, because he can build on that.

…

It takes nearly an hour to find Ino sitting at one of the swings at the Academy playground. She approaches slowly, so as not to frighten her friend, who seems to be lost in thought and doesn't seem to notice Sakura coming.

"…Ino?" she calls out carefully. The blonde jolts out of her reverie and looks up at the sound of her name. Upon seeing who it is, she glares hard and stands from the swing, pulling carefully at her gown to keep it from getting caught in the chains of the swing.

"What do you want?" She says, voice dripping with venom.

"I know that didn't look good…but—" Sakura starts nervously.

"But what? It's not what it looks like? So you weren't making out with the man I clearly said I love?"

"Ino please, listen…"

"I'm sick of listening to all your pretty words. You're always the cute one, the innocent one. But what's this? Can I even believe whatever excuse you've come up with?"

"I—" Sakura tries to get a word in, but Ino simply refuses to let her.

"Just shut up and let me finish. I'm not interested in your little lies." Sakura can see the tears gather in Ino's eyes and she wants nothing more than to rush over to her and wipe the tears away, but knows she can't, for she's the one who had caused them in the first place. "Kami, why did I ever trust you. First it was Sasuke, then Shikamaru," Sakura doesn't get what role Shikamaru plays in all of this, so she tucks this piece of information away and makes a mental note to talk to him later, "and now Itachi. Do you enjoy making me feel like an unwanted old maid?"

"What—"

"Don't act stupid," Ino says, cutting Sakura off for what seems like the hundredth time that evening. "Shika was head over heels for you last year, and I tried to be a good friend and gave up my feelings for him so you two could go and be happy. But that wasn't enough for you, was it? You're determined to stay single for life and always steal the men I'm interested in. Somehow, I knew that Itachi had feelings for you—because it the cosmos couldn't let it be that easy— but I thought, just this once, maybe you'd let me have the guy, but looks like I was wrong." Sakura couldn't have looked more stunned if Ino had told her that Sasuke was a homosexual and was currently dating…Lee. She had no idea that Ino had felt this way about any of this. She could tell that this wasn't just about her and Itachi anymore, Ino had been feeling this way towards her for a while and only now did she get to let out how she actually felt. This was more about Sakura and Ino than it was Itachi and Sakura, or even Ino and Itachi.

"Ino please, let me say something."

"What the hell does it matter anymore?" Ino starts yelling at this point with tears streaming down her face.

"Ino, I'm so, so, so sorry. I had no idea you felt this way. I swear, I had no intention of doing any of that tonight. I had tried my best to avoid him all night. Despite what you may think, I really didn't mean to hurt you. Everything kind of just happened, but I tried, Ino, I really did. I tried to stay away from Itachi. I won't deny that," Sakura swallows nervously before continuing, "I do like him…a lot. But I swear, I can forget about that. I did something really stupid and I regret it, but I know I can't take it back. All I can do now is give you my word that I won't get involved with Itachi, that I'll forget about any feelings I may have had for him, and hope that you'll believe me. Because I don't want to lose your friendship, Ino."

For a long time, neither of them move or speak. They simply stand there, thinking over the other's words.

"He's never going to see me the way he sees you," Ino finally says, sitting back down on the swing. "And I guess I accept it, but what I don't get is, how _you _seem to get all the guys, and you don't even pay attention to them. Naruto is practically obsessed with you, Itachi's obviously into you, you and Neji had a thing going on a while back, Lee's in love with you. I just don't see how that's fair."

"Don't say that…" Sakura goes to sit on the swing beside Ino.

The beautiful blonde seems to ignore Sakura's comment and continues, "I snapped back there, seeing you and Itachi …but I don't want you to give up on him. We're gonna fight all the time, that's what best friends do right? But, I want you to be happy." She finally looks over at Sakura, meeting her gaze with a weak smile.

Sakura doesn't know what to say, so she gets up from her spot on the swing and bends down to give Ino a hug. "Thank you," she says finally.

The two spend the rest of the night together in Sakura's apartment, baking cookies and having some long overdue girl talk. They talk about anything and everything until Sakura realizes that it's nearing dawn.

"I have to start getting ready, Ino," Sakura says sadly. She'd missed these long nights with her best friend and she's extremely sad to leave again so quickly after returning, especially since they'd just fixed something between them that had apparently been just beneath the surface for longer than either of them care to recall.

"You be careful out there forehead. I want you back here in one piece in two months for your next report, k?" Ino says standing up from the kitchen table.

Sakura nods and they make their way to the bedroom to pack for the trip.

…_Dawn…_

Sakura walks to the Village gates, more nervous than she can remember being for a long time. She doesn't know how she's supposed to act around Itachi now…after their encounter last night. Plus, she had rushed off last night without so much as a proper goodbye. Would he be angry? Would he think that she wanted nothing to do with him and just shun her? Or perhaps he'd act like nothing happened. It would kill her the most, she knows, if Itachi started acting like he never had any interest in her, because now she's finally accepted her feelings for him and got her best friend's blessing. If he were to disregard what had happened, she'd be crushed, she's sure. As she nears the gates, she can make out a silhouette standing there, and she knows that it's Itachi, even though she can't make out his face.

Taking a deep breath, she walks towards him, hoping to whatever powers may be listening that her anxiety isn't _too _noticeable.

…

Itachi feels Sakura approach before he sees her, and he can tell by her chakra signature that she's agitated and unsettled about something. He doesn't know whether it's because of what happened between them last night, or with Ino, or something else, but he doesn't want to pry into her life, so he decides that if she doesn't tell him herself, then he won't ask her about it.

"Good morning," he greets as she approaches.

"Morning," she says, unable to meet his gaze, so instead she looks off into the horizon, beyond the village gates. "All ready?"

"Yes," Itachi replies, watching Sakura carefully. He notices that she still refuses to make eye contact and is slightly fidgeting with her bag, but she does not seem to want to talk about it, so as promised, he won't ask. He's curious to know what happened, and how she wants to proceed with their…partnership/friendship/relationship, but he feels he's pushed her hard enough, especially last night, and if she doesn't respond to his advances, then he'll take it that she's not interested. The last thing he wants to do is scare her away, ruining their easy friendship.

"Let's go," he says finally after a few moments of tense silence.

"Hai."

Sakura's face falls slightly as she follows her captain out of the village and they travel towards their destination. She's more than a little disappointed that they didn't straighten out whatever is going on with them, but she supposes that doing so at the moment wouldn't be the best idea, seeing as they are on a tight schedule and need to make it back before they raise suspicion with 'The Boss'. But still, she would've liked to work out their 'problem', if it could be called that. She just hopes and prays that he won't ignore it and act as though it didn't happen.

The journey there is made mostly in silence and Sakura is beginning to fear that what she had prayed wouldn't happen, is happening. Itachi has barely said a word to her, barely even glanced at her, and she's too afraid to talk to him. But of course, what can she expect? She had left him without saying anything last night. If someone had left her like that, she'd probably be pretty hurt or upset, how can she expect any different from him?

They arrive in their provided cottage they had stayed in to begin with and unpack their things.

"We will remain here for a few days to decide on a plan," Itachi announces over dinner that night. "We will report to the Akuma headquarters in two days time after we have decided and have properly rested. I assume they will put us through a series of training exercises and a number of missions to begin with to properly asses our capacities."

"Right," Sakura says, still fairly troubled at the fact that Itachi seems to have forgotten about what happened the previous night. "So is tonight just rest time?"

"Yes, we will discuss the plan tomorrow. If you're up to it, we can train for a few hours as well."

"Hm, sounds good to me," Sakura says as she cleans up and washes the dishes.

"I have spoken to Hokage-sama about your entrance into ANBU—"

"_What?_" Sakura freezes what she's doing, bewildered.

"She agrees that it is a wise decision and has entered you into the exams. You will take it two months after the mission, giving you plenty of time to rest and train."

"But…I mean, I haven't even fully decided if I want to do this. Besides, two months is not enough time. People train for this mission for several months! Some even a year." Sakura has stopped washing the dishes by now and simply stares at her partner.

"You can do it," Itachi says simply.

Sakura is more than a little surprised at Itachi's complete faith in her abilities and forgets what she had been planning to say. "Well…" she trails of weakly.

"I will be training you during this mission, when we have spare time."

"Well I guess that gives me a bit more time, but when are we even going to find any spare time? Shouldn't all of our time go towards completing the mission?"

"You need to train to become stronger in order to finish this mission anyway. Consider it dual training. The mission itself will provide adequate training."

"Hm…I guess so…Is this really going to work?"

"I am positive," Itachi says, nodding before he leaves to take a quick shower before bed.

"All right then, if you say so," Sakura tells herself, more than her partner.

By the time Itachi finishes his shower and is ready for bed, Sakura is already laying in the cozy bed, though she's not asleep, she simply stares absently into the fireplace near the bed. Careful not to disturb what he assumes to be deep thinking, Itachi climbs into bed gracefully and silently beside her. The two lay there quietly for a long time and Itachi assumes Sakura has fallen asleep, until she speaks quietly.

"Ne, Itachi…" the pinkette calls hesitantly, "Um…about last night…"

The handsome Uchiha raises an eyebrow, interest piqued, and gives his full attention to the girl beside him who is still facing away from him.

"I'm sorry I left without saying anything…" she trails off, unsure of what to say.

"Sakura," he calls, not wanting to have this conversation with her back. She turns around slowly and meets his gaze shyly. "What did Yamanka-san say?"

"Well, in a nutshell, she said she just wants me to be happy, and that she'll put her feelings for you behind her…and stuff like that."

Itachi doesn't say anything, simply stares at her fondly. He doesn't miss the implication of that statement and is content to simply watch her, but the silence makes Sakura extremely uncomfortable, because she can never tell what's going on in his mind.

"So...what now?" She asks quietly.

Itachi lifts a hand to brush the hair out of her face tenderly, much gentler than one would think possible for such a deadly reputed ninja and before she can think of what to say or do next, she feels him seal his lips to hers. Sakura freezes, stunned, for a good two seconds, before she slips her eyes closed and responds to his kiss eagerly. Her partner hums in approval and pulls her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her to him.

'_Finally,'_ Sakura thinks to herself, _'Things are going right.'_

…

A/N:

I'm really sorry for the shorter chapters recently. I've been wanting to update more recently but I haven't had a lot of time to do so. I'll try make the chapters longer from now on, though that means the updates will be a bit farther apart. But I thought if I took too long with this particular chapter, my readers would start to get impatient.

Ive gotten a few questions on Sakura's age, so I'll clarify it now, she's eighteen. In the beginning, she was seventeen, but she had a birthday and is now eighteen.

_Hope you enjoyed!_

~Ja!


	12. The Mission

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Twelve: The Mission_

_Enjoy! (:_

…

"Your immense strength will not help if you cannot hit your opponent, Sakura," Itachi's calm voice points out as he dodges his partner's deadly blows.

"Well if you'd stay still then maybe I could!"

A soft chuckle escapes Itachi at his partner's frustration, "That's enough for now, let's take a break."

Sakura sighs quietly, hoping he wouldn't hear her dejection, but he does, naturally. He goes to sit by her, handing her some water.

"Do not be frustrated," he tells her simply.

She jumps to her feet after taking a sip of the water, wanting to continue their training.

Itachi stands as well but shakes his head, "Working too hard will wear you out, take a proper break."

"Right. Yes, sir," Sakura says plopping back down on her butt.

Itachi's noticed her lack of enthusiasm and confidence since they'd started training for her exams. Perhaps the stress of the mission and the irregular training regiment is putting her on edge, he speculates. But that's all they have time for; he needs to make sure they get a proper balance of training, working, and resting to function properly and complete their mission.

They continue their training for a while longer until Itachi signals the end of the session in favour of lunch.

"Would you like to return to the cottage for lunch, or would you prefer to get something in the village?" he asks after they stop.

"Hm, I say the cottage. That way, I can take a quick nap before we head back to HQ," Sakura answers after some thought. "What do you want to have for lunch?"

"Whatever you choose to make is fine with me," Itachi says. She simply shrugs and contemplates on a good lunch for them.

"You go ahead and take a shower, I'll be done by the time you get out," Sakura tells Itachi as they walk into the barely used cottage. He nods as he makes his way to the bathroom.

'_Hm, what to make,' _Sakura thinks to herelf. After a few minutes, she decides on two bowls of steaming Udon noodles and, as promised, has them ready on the table by the time Itachi gets out.

The raven-haired captain smirks as he sits down with his partner. "Interesting choice," he comments as he picks up his chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu," they say in unison.

…_Flashback…_

"_Sakura-chan, make sure you eat lots before your mission tomorrow," Mikoto says kindly as they eat dinner._

"_Yeah, I've heard nii-san is quite a slave driver," Sasuke adds in, smirking._

"_Thank you, I'll keep that in mind," Sakura smiles greatfully. "Mmm, this is delicious Mikoto-san!"_

"_I'm glad you like it, Itachi-kun used to love this when he was younger. I'm not so sure about now though, he never tells me if he especially likes something," he beautiful mother comments._

"_It is delicious," Itachi says, feeling the need to reassure his mother that he still enjoys her cooking._

…_End Flashback…_

"I remember Mikoto-san saying you liked it, but it's not as good as her cooking, for sure," Sakura says sheepishly.

"She has more experience, so it is only natural."

She nods in agreement. "So, what's our plan now?"

Itachi does not answer for some time, but Sakura's used to his prolonged pauses, so she waits patiently as she eats her lunch. "First, we need to gather information; we need to know how much they know about Konoha, how many spies they have and we'll need to eliminate said spies. Then, to make disbanding the organization easier in the end, we'll need to eliminate the lower ranking nin. In order to do that, we'll need to see the mission roster and target them while they're away from HQ so as not to raise suspicion."

"Sounds like a plan. How long do you think it'll take us to get that far?"

"Six weeks, at the very least."

"Wow…" Sakura trails off. "After this mission, remind me never to take another long-term mission," she says half-jokingly. "How often do you take these missions?"

"Not often," he says after some thought, "This is only my third. However, this mission is about the longest I've been assigned. Hokage-sama said that this mission will most likely extend past 12 months."

"Damn, that's crazy. So when you get back from these missions, is it hard to get back into your normal life?"

"Not especially, however, it is different for every individual. After returning from a long term mission, I'm given a two week break to rest, then I'm assigned to more field missions. I'm not as involved in the village as you are, so you would have more to catch up with."

Sakura nods in understanding, "That makes sense." She pauses and stares thoughtfully into her food, causing Itachi to tilt his head to the side a fraction of an inch in curiosity. "Two weeks isn't nearly enough to rest up, not even you."

He smirks at the woman in front of him, unsurprised by the predictable statement, "Two weeks is more than enough." He places his chopsticks on his bowl and gets up to place the dishes in the sink.

Sakura simply watches him get up. "Arrogant bastard," she huffs quietly before following suit.

He takes her bowl from her, adding it with his own dishes to wash. "I'll take care of these," he tells her matter-of-factly, "You need to rest."

"Right," she says absentmindedly, "Thanks. Wake me when we're leaving."

"Hm," Itachi nods in response. He makes his way over to Sakura when he finishes, finding her already asleep. He bends down to tuck her in more comfortable and places a gentle kiss on her forehead, careful not to wake her. The stoic captain sighs as he gets up from his crouching position, _'What are you doing to me, Sakura?' _He goes to the nearby fireplace for some much needed meditation to ponder on the changes he's been experiencing since he and Sakura had decided to pursue a relationship…thing, if it could even be called that. Not much has changed in their regular discourse, but Itachi realizes the affect her cheery personality is having on his stoic temperament.

…_Akuma HQ…_

"Since you're new to the organization, naturally, we'll need to do some assessments," a mysterious figure hidden in darkness, otherwise known as 'The Boss', tells Takeo and his partner Mai. "Just so we know what our members are capable of, what we may need to improve in, and so on," he says, a mysterious hint of a smirk evident in his voice, as if he'd made some crude joke. "You may treat this as training; I have a series of sparring partners lined up for each of you and they will assess your levels of different skills. Then I want to see your teamwork so I have a group of nin for you to fight against together." He pauses for a short while as if to let them process the information given thus far. "I guess I should tell you," he says after a short while, "Don't hold back too much. I can assure you your opponents won't."

Mai says nothing while Takeo simply nods.

"Kazuha," Boss calls, "Take these two to the training ground."

A young girl, no older than ten, enters the dark meeting room. "Follow me please," she says timidly.

Takeo and Mai bow to The Boss and follow the girl outside. On the way out, the two take mental pictures of the building structure, trying to find the most efficient way to bring the place down. Kazuha, mistaking their wandering stares for curiosity and awe clears her throat quietly to get their attention.

"It's a huge building, most of the members get lost in their first two weeks or so. Boss-sama picked this place to accommodate the huge amount of people he wants to gather," she informs them. The two following behind her say nothing but she continues telling them about the building nonetheless.

"Well, here we are," she announces after some time, before leaving them in the open field with several other ninja.

"So this is the new meat, eh?" a gritty looking man says. The men around him laugh as they approach the pair menacingly. Takeo and Mai crouch in their battle ready positions, taking several steps away from each other so as not to interfere with the other's battle. The chaos ensues as the other men very nearly pounce on their target. It is a tiring fight and The Boss had been right when he had informed them that their opponents would not hold back, but, as expected, they defeat each and every one of their opponents.

A figure in the shadows applauds their victories, causing the pair to turn in the direction of the stranger clapping. A man with jet black hair, wearing a pristine white suit emerges from the shadows and approaches Takeo and Mai. "Very impressive, The Boss was right in recruiting you two. And look, they weren't even able to get a single hit on you. Looks like we'll need to train our members a little better then, hm?"

Takeo and Mai say nothing and simply watch the stranger.

"So, what are you two? Cousins? Dating? Married?" The man asks with a purposeful glance at Mai. "I'd like to know if this little one is available," he adds with a smirk.

This earns him a particularly sharp glare from Takeo as he takes a step forward.

"Ah I see, I see, it seems she's not available then," the man says as he chuckles and backs off. "Ah, pardon my manners, I am Shimizu Kei. I suppose you could call me the second in command. The Boss asked me watch over you two for the next little bit. You know, show you the ropes, and such."

Mai says nothing still, but Takeo nods at his introduction. The two don't bother to introduce themselves, because Kei must already know who they are since he is the second in command.

"You two don't talk much do you? Very well then, straight to business, here are your next opponents. They will be testing your level of teamwork." Just then, a group of about fifteen men join them in the clearing and surround them. "Have fun," Kei adds before moving a safe distance away.

Just like their previous matches, this one is tiring, but they are able to defeat their opponents without so much as a single scratch on themselves.

"I am _very _impressed, you two. I see we'll be able to give you missions of higher ranking; no need to work your way up. I was told you've been training all day before you came here, so I'm sure you must be tired. Allow me to show you to your new rooms. Your previous ones were only temporary, so I hope you didn't get too comfortable. These rooms, however, will be permanent, so make yourselves at home." With that, he makes his way back into the building, the two following closely behind him.

They pass by several doors down an especially long hallway before Kei stops. "This, Takeo-san, is your room," he announces, gesturing to the door on his right.

Takeo nods and, seeing that he is expected to go to his room, opens the door, throwing a quick glance at his partner before closing it behind him.

"Now, if you'll follow me, Mai, I'll take you to your room," Kei says, placing a hand on Mai's shoulder.

"Hai," she says with a nod.

"So, you do talk. I was starting to wonder if you two were mutes or something," Kei laughs. "And here we are, Mai-chan. This is your room." She doesn't miss the affectionate suffix he's added to her name, despite only knowing her for less than a day.

"Arigatou," she says, hoping to get away from him as quickly as possible. She opens the door to her room and after she walks in, she realizes that he's followed her in. "Um, excuse me. I need to get some rest."

A dark chuckle escapes Kei's lips as he closes the door behind him forcefully. "I'm afraid you won't be getting much sleep tonight, Mai-chan."

She glares at him angrily and aims a punch straight for his head, however, he catches it easily and twists her arm behind her back. She curses at Itachi under her breath and tries to twist free but he is simply too strong.

…_Flashback…_

"_Remember, you cannot use chakra in any of your taijutsu," Itachi tells her over breakfast one day, "We need to completey change our fighting styles otherwise they will recognize us as part of the leaf. You and Hokage-sama are the only two people who use chakra to enhance your strength and they will realize that you are not who you say you are. Be careful not to let on about your full capacity, we will need the element of surprise when the time comes."_

_Sakura sighs, "Yeah, I understand. This isn't going to be easy."_

_A familiar smirk makes its way across Itachi's lips, "No one said it would be."_

…_End Flashback…_

"Let me tell you how it works around here," he whispers in her ear darkly, "The women have one primary job, I'm sure you can guess what that is. I'll admit you are quite strong, but you are still a woman and your job, first and foremost, is to _relieve _the stress of us men."

Her jaw tightens, her mind going into mild panic. She doesn't know his capability and if she uses her chakra enhanced strength and she can't kill him, then he'll tell The Boss. She _cannot _blow their cover; she is a kunoichi, and this type of thing was bound to happen at least once in her career. She's lucky it's only happened now, so she needs to just grit her teeth and bear it.

Mai lowers her head in shame at what she needs to do, but she will do all she can to make this hell for Kei.

"_Fuck you,_" she spits, her voice hardening to attempt to cover up the trembling fear she feels. She clenches her fist in determination as she elbows him _hard_ in the stomach. She hears his breath catch and his hold on her go limp for a fraction of a second. Taking this moment to escape, she twists her arm from his grasp and jumps back a safe distance away from him. Kei suddenly disappears from his place and Mai, in her mild panic, searches her surroundings for any sign that might give away his hiding spot. She figures out, a second too late, where he is, for he appears right behind her and brings his elbow to collide with her shoulder. She cries out painfully and collapses to the ground but rolls to the side immediately on contact to avoid the heavy blow aimed to her face. Kei anticipates her actions and reaches down to hold her in place by the neck.

Mai tries to escape from his bruising grip, but she is running out of air fast and doesn't have the energy to loosen his grip. In a last ditch attempt to escape, she kicks out blindly, and by sheer luck alone, her kick makes contact and she is able to get up from the ground and jump away from him. Before her feet land on the ground, however, Kei appears in front of her and punches her in the stomach, causing her back to collide painfully into the nearby wall. Before she can register what happened, he is in front of her, pinning her hands to the wall, trapping her there.

"You've got quite the mouth there, Mai-chan. Perhaps I need to teach you a lesson in respect. There's no point in resisting; you're strong, but I'm stronger." Mai feels his breath wash over her ear, causing her to shiver uncomfortably. She feels him nibble on the shell of her ear, and for some reason, she feels strength draining away. Kei chuckles sinisterly as he makes his way down the column of her neck. She stands there, arms pinned to the wall, her lungs contracting painfully, her heart pounding so loudly she is certain he can hear it too. One of his hands travels down her torso and sneaks its way up her shirt. She struggles weakly once more, but her weak resistance seems to excite Kei more. Mai feels him nibbling at her neck as his hand rests on her bare back. The fear that encompasses her is suffocating, but she fights not to let the quickly gathering tears to fall from her eyes.

"S-stop," Mai manages weakly, and to her surprise and tremendous relief, he does.

"You're lucky, Mai-chan," the man says into her neck, his friendly voice suddenly back, "The Boss is calling for me. You seem to have learned your place." He backs away from her, a feral smirk evident on his otherwise handsome features. "We'll finish this some other time," he adds before leaving her room.

She hears the door shut with a definitive _click _and she slides down the wall, hugging her knees and sitting in a fetal position. She stays there for a long time, head buried in her knees, refusing to let the tears fall. After some time, she hears a quiet knock at her door causing her to stiffen, afraid that it might be Kei, back to finish what he had started. There's no way, she knows, that she could fend him off now, not even if she were to use her regular fighting style; she's simply too drained from the activities of the day and he had taken a good chunk of her chakra. Her thoughts are interrupted by the knocking again, slightly more insistent this time.

"Mai," a voice calls from outside.

Almost immediately, she slouches in relief, recognizing the voice to be that of her partner's. She jumps up to answer the door and let him in. Just the sight of him, even in his henge, is enough to calm her frayed nerves, even if just a little. She still doesn't know what she'll do the next time Kei returns, but for now, she wants to put it in the back of her mind.

"Please come in," she says, closing the door behind her partner. He places a seal at her door before turning to face his partner.

"You can remove your henge," he tells her as they go to sit on the provided sofa.

"Hai." She wastes no time in doing so and sighs, happy to be rid of the weight, no matter how light, it had taken to maintain the jutsu. Itachi follows suit and she watches as his eyes bleed back to their original mesmerizing charcoal and his hair, jet black.

"You do not look well," he points out after getting a good look at his partner. "What happened?"

Sakura averts his gaze to a spot on the ground, refusing to meet his gaze, hoping to hide some of the bruises she must have gotten in the struggle. "Nothing," she lies.

"Sakura—"

"It's nothing," she says sharply. "Nothing happened," she repeats with less authority, partly to try to convince herself.

Understanding what must have happened, Itachi does not question her further.

"Very well," he says quietly. He brings his hand up to her bruised neck and, using his very basic and limited medic knowledge, he heals the hand-shaped bruises there and he continues to heal what he can of her visible wounds.

"…It was Kei," Sakura says quietly after some time, head lowered in shame.

"I know," Itachi tells her in an equally quiet voice.

"He didn't…finish the job, though." Still refusing to look at her partner, she gets up to sit on the edge of the bed facing away from him.

Not liking the distance she has now put between them, Itachi gets up and walks over to where she is sitting and stands in front of her. "Are you alright?" he asks, the concern in his voice evident.

Sakura simply nods. He moves to sit down beside her and envelops her in a careful embrace. The pink-haired medic closes her eyes tiredly and melts into his arms.

'_Weak,' _she hears a voice say in her mind. _'Suck it up princess,' _the voice comes again. She recognizes the voice as one of the girls who used to pick on her when she was younger.

…_Flashback…_

"_Please, stop," little Sakura says through her tears._

"_Tch, how weak," one of the girls surrounding her says. This one seems to be the leader of the pack. "Suck it up princess, no one likes you."_

_The tears fall harder now, despite her efforts to keep them at bay. The laughter comes then, surrounding her, the pain feeling like a physical blow._

…_End Flashback…_

Sakura's back stiffens at the unpleasant memory. She refuses to become that weak little girl again, ever. She pushes away from Itachi and looks up at him.

"I'm okay, really," she reassures with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Thanks."

Not wanting to push her any further, he nods in response. "Get some rest, I will stay here."

Sakura's heart melts a little at his concern, but she shakes her head.

"Iie, go back. They might get suspicious," she says as she replaces her henge. In case someone _does _happen to come by her room tonight, she can't answer the door as Sakura.

"My staying in your room for the night will not blow our cover. It will simply lead them to think that our relationship is more than completely platonic." He pauses and moves closer, his face a mere hairsbreadth away. Sakura holds her breath in anticipation; no matter how many times Itachi shows her the depth of his affection for her, it never fails to surprise her.

"Which isn't far from the truth," he breathes before closing the distance between them.

She doesn't resist and returns the kiss with equal passion, but before the two get caught up in the heat of the moment, Itachi pulls away.

"Now," he says after taking a moment to compose himself, "Go clean up and get some rest."

Sakura nods and gets up to go to the attached bathroom at the other end of the room. Itachi watches her retreating figure and reminds himself that this is no time to be distracted by Sakura, no matter how tempting it may be to follow her into the washroom. Besides, after what she had experienced earlier that night, now would hardly be the time for such activities. He is pulled from his thoughts at the sound of the bathroom door clicking shut. The handsome Uchiha merely shakes his head clear of thoughts (figuratively of course, because Uchiha Itachi shaking his head like a dog is about as likely as it is to rain cats and dogs) and enters a light meditative doze at the foot of her bed.

Sakura sighs in relief as the hot water runs down her tired, mildly traumatized body. She can still feel the rough treatment her body had received from Kei earlier that evening and it makes her shiver how close she had been to being taken advantage of. She can't get the feeling of his hands off her body, no matter how hard she scrubs her skin, leaving it red and raw.

"What would I have done?" she asks herself.

Then she recalls Itachi's gentle, feather light touches and little by little, she is able to release the tension from her body and finish with her shower. Sakura gets out of the shower and looks at her tired reflection in the mirror.

"Kami, how pathetic," she tells her reflection, "You are a kunoichi and you have been trained for this kind of work. How can you be so pathetic?" She looks away then, disgusted by her own reflection and her lack of capacity to handle such situations. "Next time, I'll handle it," she says resolutely. But the thought of a 'next time' scares her enough that she can't even entertain the thought, so she quickly puts her pajamas on, dries her hair with a simple wind jutsu, and leaves the bathroom.

Upon entering her provided bedroom, she sees Itachi sitting at the foot of her bed, eyes closed, face so calm and serene. She smiles to herself and makes her way over to him, climbing onto the bed. As if on instinct, Itachi gets under the covers beside his partner and pulls her to him.

"Ne, Itachi," Sakura says as she buries her face into his chest, "I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Umm… what's going to happen when we get back?" she pauses to find the right words, "When this is all over?"

Of course, being who he is, Itachi has already planned out what he plans to do after the mission, but he does not wish to reveal his plans to her this early, for fear of scaring her away. He doesn't quite know what he is to her, but this is most definitely more than just a fling for him and he wishes to show her, but not right now.

"We will talk about it when the time comes," he tells her.

This sets Sakura a little bit on edge because, as usual, she doesn't know what Itachi is thinking. However, in this case, her heart is laying on the line and she doesn't want to leave herself too open for any kind of emotional pain. But, as she has long since learned, there is nothing she can do about it if Itachi doesn't want to tell her.

She nods and wishes him goodnight, which he returns with a kiss on the forehead.

"Rest well, Sakura. Tomorrow is another day."

…

A/N:

Woowweee that took a while to get up. Sorry guys. I've been busy, as usual. I can't say the updates will be coming more frequently, because they won't. But please be patient with me. I hope you are all still enjoying this story and keeping with it. I appreciate my loyal fans who have been writing to me, so thanks!

Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks!

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

~Ja!


	13. Reckless Indeed

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Thirteen: Reckless Indeed_

_Enjoy! (:_

…

Sakura wakes up feeling no more rested than she had when she went to sleep. She had a long and restless night, waking up several times throughout the course of the night from nightmares of what could have happened, had Kei chosen to finish what he started. She mentally shakes the thought from her mind, determined not to let it affect her mission. The petite medic smiles fondly as she feels her partner tighten his hold on her waist. She inches closer, stealing his heat from him.

"We have a mission today," Itachi says above her.

Sakura nods her head tiredly, her mind still muddled from sleep. She carefully extricates herself from her partner and yawns delicately, stretching her limbs lazily. The action catches Itachi's attention and he watches with amusement as Sakura sits up in her bed and stretches some more. His silent observation, however, is cut short as his finely hones senses picks up on an approaching visitor. It takes all of his self-control not to growl angrily as he recognizes the chakra signature to be that of Kei's. It seems Sakura has noticed as well and she throws him a worried glance.

"Go get cleaned up, I will take care of it," he tells her as he replaces his henge.

She nods and moves quickly, making her way to the bathroom for a hot shower.

Itachi hears a knock on the door and moves to answer it, placing his henge before opening the door.

"Ah, Takeo-san," Kei greets in feigned surprise, "Good morning. I hope you had a good rest last night."

"Hn," he replies.

"The Boss has requested you meet him in his office after breakfast to discuss the details of your mission." Takeo says nothing in response and Kei continues. "When you're ready, you can get some food in the main hall."

Takeo nods, "If that is all…"

"Ah, hai. I'm sure you're busy in there," Kei gives him a pointed look and a wink, "Good day to you, Takeo-san." Without waiting for a reply, he walks back the way he came.

Itachi drops his henge soon after closing the door and takes a seat on the semi-comfortable looking couch opposite the bed and releases the sigh.

He wonders what he might have done, had Kei decided to 'finish the job' last night. Itachi is well known for his efficiency both on and off the battlefield, but this girl, Sakura…she makes him feel reckless. The thought of what could have happened last night serves to put him slightly on edge. What will he do the next time she is in harm's way? Will he be able to think rationally and act professionally as her captain, or will he rush to her aid, possibly putting the mission at risk? He was given the task of protecting her, but the line between protecting her for the mission, and protecting her for personal reasons is now blurred and almost unrecognizable. He knows he is only allowed to protect her from the threat that claimed her parents' lives, but when the time comes that she is fighting with a particularly powerful opponent, will he still remember that? This recklessness, this _uncertainty _that surrounds everything regarding his little pinkette—yes, _his— _makes him rethink is decisions. Perhaps he should have waited until the mission is over?

However, before he can come to a conclusion, Sakura emerges from the washroom, clad in _his _black shirt she had borrowed for pajamas, and all thoughts are cleared from his mind. She looks over to him, slightly concerned at the hard look he's adapted and that's all it takes for him to make his way to her and proceed to kiss her senseless.

Reckless indeed.

This catches Sakura off guard and she stands there, in his arms, struck dumb, until she finds it in herself to respond to his advances. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and hears him hum his approval as he backs her into a wall, effectively trapping her there until he is finished. He slips his tongue into her moist cavern and they engage in a battle for dominance, one he quickly wins. For once, Sakura is content to simply take the backseat and be led. After some time, the raven-haired genius steps away and simply looks at his partner.

"Is something the matter, Itachi?" Sakura asks, mind still hazy.

He doesn't answer immediately and simply stares at her. Eventually, he shakes his head before walking past her into the washroom she had previously occupied. Knowing that there's nothing she can do to make him tell her, she doesn't try to pry. Instead, she pushes herself off the wall and prepares for the meeting.

…..

"_Shit," _Itachi hears his partner hiss through the earpiece.

"What is your situation?" he asks, his voice slightly tighter than the usual smooth tenor.

"_I'm surrounded," _the voice says, the statement laced with some hard breathing. Itachi takes some time to assess their situation and modify the plan. The pair, now absent of their henge, is currently tracking a unit sent by Akuma to infiltrate the Hidden Leaf. Finding a weakness in the small but powerful group, Itachi had given the order to take them out, but it seems the job would be more difficult than they had anticipated.

"_But it's nothing I can't handle," _he hears her reassure him smugly after a while. While he would like to go over to her and help her out, she's too far away and the raven-haired captain has his hands full with his own battle.

"Give it up stranger," a man wearing a mask says in front of him. "I don't know who you are, or where you're from, but you cannot win."

"Hm, ignorant fool," Itachi says quietly before he disappears from his place in the centre of the gathered ninja. And with that, the battle begins.

.

Sakura limps to their designated meeting spot after a long, hard battle to find him sitting near the pond and she makes her way over to him.

"Itachi," she breathes out carefully due to a fractured rib.

Upon hearing his name, he turns to look at his bloodied partner and he has to remind himself not to rush to her and fuss over the injuries she's sustained. The clan heir feels his chest tightening uncomfortably at the sight of his badly injured partner and realizes that, without his knowing or realizing it, Sakura has wormed her way into becoming one of the people he cares most about. These _feelings _he had have developed into something much more.

_Love? _He hears the word echo in his mind but tucks it away immediately. This is hardly the time for thinking about such things and reminds himself to take some time for meditation later on.

"Are you hurt?" She asks him, despite her own mangled state.

"Not nearly as bad as you," Itachi comments, trying to remain neutral. "Come, we need to return to the cottage."

The pinkette pulls some dried blood out of her hair and cringes upon the realization that it's not hers, "What about Akuma? They're going to get suspicious that we're always gone."

Itachi shakes his head, already leading her towards their makeshift and temporary home. "They will get more suspicious if we come back this way. As long as we complete the missions given to us, they will not interfere in our personal lives." Without bothering to ask for her permission, knowing she'd refuse and be difficult, he picks her up carefully and, with a teleportation jutsu, they are back in the small cottage provided for them.

Itachi brings her over to the bed and Sakura doesn't protest to being carried this way, a clear indication that she has been injured more than she is accustomed to, and possibly more than she can handle.

He leaves immediately to get some warm water to wash off her injuries and after bringing it to her, he goes to the kitchen and prepares a warm meal for them when she finishes healing herself.

"Thanks," he hears her call out weakly from her place on the bed.

"Hn," is all he says.

It takes a long time for Sakura to be able to heal herself enough to get out of bed due to her exhaustion and lack of chakra and she doesn't think she'll be able to fully heal herself until the next morning, after a good night's rest. She gets up from the now bloody bed—nothing a modified suiton jutsu can't fix—and looks over at Itachi. He too had been injured but she knows he won't allow himself to be healed until she is all better.

For the first time in a long time, Sakura feels somewhat accomplished. She's proud that she'd been able to take on those nin by herself; true she'd come out of it much worse than Itachi had, but she'd done it all by herself, not needing any kind of assistance whatsoever, except of course getting back to the cottage, but she decides to leave that part out. She gets up from the bed and makes her way over towards the delicious smelling food.

"Smells great," she says behind her partner who is currently standing at the stove.

"Hn," he responds. Sakura briefly wonders what has caused Itachi's sudden monosyllabic answers after having been able to get at least complete sentences from him for months now. "How are you feeling?" he asks after a while, though he still does not look at her.

"I'm feeling a lot better," she says, now a little discouraged from trying to make conversation with him. "I think I'll go take a shower," she tells him absently and turns away without waiting for a response, not really expecting to get one from him anyway.

Itachi simply sighs silently after he's sure she's long gone. He resumes his train of thought concerning Sakura's place in his life. They had easily fit into each other's lives these past few weeks since their last return to Konoha and had become something much more than just friends. He admits that this is what he's wanted for a long time now, but the depth of their relationship and her affect on him is something he had not been expecting, and Uchiha Itachi does not take surprises well. He has spent his whole life planning everything in his life and her sudden intrusion on his plans has left him at a loss for what he's supposed to do. He despises the lack of self control he experiences with matters concerning her, but so far has been unable to do anything about it.

'_The mission must always come first,' _he reminds himself but this is much easier said than done.

The only thing that he can think of to solve this problem is to rid himself of this…_weakness. _This, however, is not an option. After finally being able to secure her affections for himself, he is less than willing to let it go so easily. What, then, can Itachi do? Then there's the issue of _love. _Why did that word come into mind when he tried to put a name to his feelings towards Sakura? Surely he does not love her, not a chance. From hearing his mother speak of it, love is supposed to be mushy, and warm, fuzzy feelings. Surely he'll know what love is if ever it comes to such a thing; this, however, is most certainly _not _love.

And he continues telling himself this for the next few minutes.

Itachi hears the shower water stop running and stops this particular train of thought before Sakura catches on to what has been on his mind recently. She comes out of the washroom and joins him in the dining room just as he is putting the plates of food down. He looks up to see her, dressed once more in his t-shirt, telling him she has no intention of leaving the cottage today. Damn that t-shirt for making her look so _enticing, _for making him want to ravage her there on the spot, and—no, Itachi stops that particular thought before it becomes something he'll regret thinking. Sakura simply stands there, looking at him, wondering why he has just suddenly frozen.

"Are you okay, Itachi?" she asks worriedly, already forgetting her earlier discouragement.

"I'm fine," he says, snapping out of whatever trance he had been trapped in. "Have a seat, the food is ready."

"'Kay, thanks." She takes a seat opposite him and they eat their meal in silence, each fully immersed in their own thoughts.

'Why is Itachi suddenly acting so cold towards her?' Sakura muses as she eats the delicious food. She can think of nothing that would have triggered such behaviour from him. There is no instance that the petite woman can think of that may have indicated he would treat her this way. Seemingly just out of nowhere, he decided to turn his back to her kindness and treat her as though they are mere acquaintances. The idea of being no more than acquaintances unsettles her and she wonders that if she would just ask, would he tell her?

'_Highly unlikely,'_ Inner Sakura says, _'Uchiha Itachi doesn't wait for people to ask. If there's something he wants us to know, he'll tell us.'_

'_So then does the fact that he hasn't come out and said it yet mean that he doesn't want us to know?' _Sakura asks her inner persona.

'_Probably,' _is the response she gets.

Perhaps she is simply over thinking things again, the petite medic considers; she's known to have done that several times before. Whatever it is, she isn't going to figure it out by agonizing over it. She simply trusts that Itachi will figure it out or tell her if her needs to.

…

Two weeks.

Two damn weeks since Itachi started giving Sakura the cold shoulder; two weeks since she decided to trust him to either figure it out or tell her. What could possibly be so troubling that he can't just come out and say it, or figure out a way to tell her in _two weeks? _The past little while has been slowly, but surely, driving her crazy. Sakura hates not knowing what's going on but Itachi seems to love doing that to her. In the past two weeks, he hasn't said more than one sentence consecutively to her other than orders.

Is this it then? What she had initially feared is coming true. _Damn it! _She knew she should have listened to those voices telling her that she just isn't good enough. To say that she didn't see it coming would be a lie, just a little bit. That voice has always been hiding in the back of her mind, waiting for a chance to come out and say, _'I told you so!' _And here's the chance. She should never have let herself get caught up in this—in the middle of an extremely important mission no less. Letting herself get caught up with her superior—and not just any superior, Uchiha Itachi—is _not _what she had in mind when she signed up for this. She is not ready to deal with the repercussions of her decision, especially when she hasn't exactly taken the chance to examine the depth of her attraction to Itachi.

How is it that she always manages to do this to herself? This should not come as a surprise to her, given Itachi's position, good looks, and popularity with the ladies—and it's _not_ a surprise, she repeatedly tells herself. But a small part of her had hoped that maybe, just maybe, this might possibly be different. It's too late to do anything about her decisions now; she must simply live with the consequences of putting herself at risk. What she can't quite wrap her head around, however, is why Itachi can't just come out and tell her he's bored of her. He has never struck her as the cowardly type to simply run away. Perhaps, giving him the benefit of the doubt, he's just trying to figure out a way to tell her. She decides to give him until the end of the day to speak to her about it. If he doesn't, then she'll take the choice away from him and bring it up herself.

When the hell did she let herself care so much about him anyway?

Looking up at the sky, she realizes it's almost nightfall and decides that she needs to head back. With resolution she didn't know she had, Sakura pulls herself together and starts the trek back to the cottage from the makeshift training grounds.

_..._

Two weeks.

It has taken Itachi _two whole weeks _to figure out a solution. This solution, however, is hardly a solution. He does not like this particular idea but can think of nothing else. He has decided that this thing that he and Sakura have is simply too dangerous; dangerous for her, for him, and for the mission, and like they have been taught since day one: the mission must _always _come first. Regardless of all they've gone through to get to where they are now, he cannot endanger them or the mission any longer. Of course, if all goes well, Itachi would like to resume where they had left off once the mission is over, but knows that it's highly unlikely. That's a long time from now and a lot can change in that time and besides, knowing Sakura, she wouldn't like to be put on hold, for lack of a better word. She seems to think—and Itachi assumes that she learned this from her blonde teammate—that feelings and bonds are not a weakness, that they are something to make you stronger. Of course she is completely off the mark, but he has no problem with her thinking the way she does. Due to this philosophy of hers, however, she will _not _agree to simply put it off for an indefinite amount of time. He supposes there's no other choice, the mission and the safety of the village cannot be sacrificed for what he may want

As if on cue Sakura walks into the cozy cottage from her long training looking more drained than she should, considering the nature of her training.

He watches her as she steps inside, sluggishly removing her boots and jacket.

"Good evening, Sakura," he greets as he always does.

"Hey," she says, less than interested.

"What troubles you?" he asks her as she nears him. He steps closer to her until they are nearly toe to toe.

She looks up at him for a long time, not realizing how close they had suddenly gotten. He sees her jaded emerald eyes harden as something seems to pass through them.

"Nothing," she spits out finally, directing her gaze to the healthy fire blazing in the fireplace.

"Sakura," he calls in a tone she hasn't heard from him in a while, causing her hard gaze to soften fractionally. She feels him tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, probably an attempt to get her attention, but she flinches at the contact and attempts to back away.

"Don't, Itachi," she says with less conviction that she had hoped.

The raven-haired genius assumes that her less than friendly behaviour towards him is due to his coldness towards her these past two weeks. However, despite knowing the cause, he does not know how to approach this particular problem.

They are silent for a long while, each immersed in their own thoughts, until Sakura breaks the silence, now more angry than she is hurt or confused.

"I don't know what you're waiting for, but just spit it out, Uchiha. If you have something to say to me, then hurry up and say it." She glares up at him, her anger more than enough to hide the hurt he had almost seen in her just moments before.

"I apologize," he begins and when she thinks he might continue, he pauses and looks into the fire thoughtfully.

"_What _are you apologizing for?"

"I have treated you wrongly these past two weeks. I should have told you earlier and I have hurt you. I am sorry for doing so." Sakura's hard gaze and tone soften, but her anger is nowhere near gone.

"Will you tell me now, then?"

Itachi nods but does not speak right away and Sakura knows that he will tell speak when he is ready. A part of her hates that he analyzes and re-analyzes everything that he says, but she's learned to accept it in time.

"I have been thinking," he says finally, "There is something about you, Haruno Sakura, that I don't understand. There is something about you that makes me," he pauses and takes a lock of her hair in his hand, examining it carefully and intimately twirls it between his fingers, "Reckless. I cannot recall when it happened, but you have almost changed my priorities. This, however, is unacceptable. As you know, the mission must _always _come first."

"That's not true," she interrupts. "Those who break the rules are scum, those who leave behind their comrades are worse than scum," she recites, having heard this more times than she can count. Itachi chooses not to reply to that, not wishing to engage in an argument about morals and such. Instead, he lets go of her hair and lets his hand drop back to his side

"You are a smart girl, Sakura. You must know that I cannot allow this. I wish it was different," he pauses once more, "but we must stop what we are doing now."

She should have seen this coming, the conversation has been leading to this all along, but to hear the words come from his mouth hurts her, more than she had ever imagined it would. She takes a step back, and looks away to hide the shameful hurt that must be written all over her face.

"I see," is all she can manage to say for a long time. "You're wrong, you know," Sakura says after a while.

"While you may believe in the power of bonds_, _that is not how I was raised. I do not ask that you change your view on things, just that you try to understand mine. I am your captain and it is my job to put the safety of you and this mission before your _feelings, _or mine for that matter. I apologize that you are hurt by my words, but this is how it must be."

It frustrates her how calm he is, that he is crushing her heart with such a tone that seems as if he is unaffected by this. It makes her feel foolish that she cares so much, while he just watches her slowly fall apart.

"That being said, I have a proposal," Itachi continues in that frustratingly controlled voice she hates right now. "While it may be dangerous to continue what we have now, there is no danger in picking up where we left off once the mission is competed."

This serves to break her out of the pained reverie she had been in. Is the famed genius, Uchiha Itachi, really so…stupid?

"You don't _get_ _it_, do you?" she says finally, her anger working its way to the surface once more. "Us pretending that we're over, putting this on hold, is _not _to change things. Just because we try to act like we're simply captain and medic, that doesn't change the fact that there is obviously something more. Just because I don't kiss you goodnight, will that mean you don't care about me anymore? You can't solve it this way." Her tone has elevated at this point and she's almost yelling at him, although he's only two steps away.

"You're still going to be reckless despite the fact that we're not intimate anymore. The only way you're going to save this mission is if you really let go of those feelings, if you make yourself objective again. You can't ask me to temporarily put my feelings for you on hold any more than I can ask you to forget about this mission.

"These past two weeks have been quite _objective _for you, haven't they. Or you've tried. Has your distancing yourself helped you at all? If I died now, would you care any less?"

"Do not throw your words around so carelessly," Itachi says, losing just a little bit of that control she hates so much. Sakura doesn't reply to this, she simply stares back at him.

"If that is how you feel," the Uchiha says, his control slipping back into place, "Then the only way is to end this."

Sakura takes a deep breath to try to calm herself. "Yeah, I guess so," she replies, her voice having dropped now to a near whisper. She averts her gaze to a spot on the wall past his shoulder, unable to handle his piercing gaze. After what feels like an eternity, she turns away and makes her way to the washroom, determined to put some space between her and Itachi. She hates that the cottage is so small, making her feel almost suffocated at the moment, but it is too late and too dark to go outside. Besides, if she leaves now, she can't be sure if she would return before sunrise the next day, and given the importance of their mission, that is unacceptable.

Itachi simply watches her walk away from him, shoulders tensed and hands fisted so tight she could almost draw blood. He doesn't know what he'd expected to come from that confrontation, but he feels a lot worse about it than he deems acceptable; he should _not _be feeling this badly about it.

Sakura closes the door of their shared bathroom and slides down to the floor, allowing herself to take in what had just taken place.

Did she hope he'd come after her? That he'd stop her and say he was wrong, and that he doesn't want to end it? Honestly, yes, she did, but she doesn't expect it. Regardless of that fact, it still hurts her that he didn't.

'_So, what now?' _she asks herself. What is going to happen to the mission? Things between them most certainly cannot go back to the way they were before, there's no way she can pretend none of that ever happened. To make matters even more uncomfortable, there is only one bed and being the ever efficient gentleman Itachi is, he will not allow her to sleep on the floor and she definitely doesn't want to be the reason Itachi wakes up with a sore neck every morning. Besides, she needs to conserve all the chakra she can, and surprisingly enough, a therapeutic massage takes quite a bit out of her, considering how trivial it is.

Haruno Sakura is determined to stay in the washroom for at least the next hour. She's the type of person that needs to agonize and over analyze things before she can even think of any kind of solution. Right now, she doesn't really care if Itachi thinks she's being immature. To be quite honest, she doesn't really care very much for his opinion at the moment. Despite knowing that she really has no right to be really mad at him—because he really was just being the ideal, perfect captain and putting the village before anything—a part of her can't help but _almost _hate him for making that decision. Because of course, anger is the easiest escape from facing the truth. The truth that Itachi has made a good decision; she doesn't know if it's the best decision, but it isn't a bad one, necessarily.

She _almost _hates him for making a move on her and making her care so deeply for him in the first place, only to have her heart crushed, yet again. What was it with these Uchiha's that keeps drawing her to them?

Suddenly feeling extremely tired, both physically and emotionally, Sakura decides to lay her head in her arms, just for a little while. She can think about this after a well deserved rest.

…

Itachi stares at the now closed door for a long time before he makes his way to the bed and sits on his side, leaning against the headboard and propping an arm onto his raised knee, the other leg outstretch before him. He had been so certain that this was the right decision but now, he isn't so sure. He thinks of how the mission and their partner dynamics will be affected now. He's almost completely certain that she will not speak to him for a long time, other than to receive directions and orders. Other than the success of the mission—which is and always will be his number one priority—he worries that now even his friendship and companionship will be jeopardized as well. She has become one of his few real friends in their time together and the thought of losing even that makes him more than a little uneasy.

It was for the safety of the village, her own safety and his, and it was the _right _decision, he says to himself incessantly, though the more times he repeats it, the less he believes it.

Feeling more tired than he can recall in the last two or so months, he lets his head drop onto his arm, not bothering to get into bed properly, and closes his eyes. Perhaps taking a short nap will somewhat refresh him mind and allow him to figure out how to proceed from here, for it is almost time to return to the headquarters.

With a certain pink haired medic on his mind, Itachi's consciousness slowly drifts away as he falls asleep to the steady crackling of the fire.

"Goodnight, Sakura," he says silently, knowing she won't hear him.

…

TBC

A/N:

I am so terribly, eternally sorry for the extreeeemely late update. To be quite honest, I almost didn't come back to this one. I know I say I'm busy, but I really am and I almost gave up because of the amount of work I've had. But I's summer now and I have a little bit more time freed up to do this! So to ensure that I don't abandon this story before it's finished, I'm going to try to wrap it up within the next 4 or 5 chapters. I may even have it done by the time school starts up again! Buut I highly doubt that.

Thank you so much to my ever faithful readers who have stuck with me from day one, and to my newer and prospective readers & supporters. I appreciate all of your reviews and support and I hope I haven't disappointed you.

I realize that I switch between calling Sakura and Itachi Mai and Takeo but I hope you follow along easily enough. I just find it hard to say

And Sakura, as Mai, moves toward the door … Or Itachi, as Takeo, nods in reply….

So I prefer to just call them by Mai or Takeo when the situation calls for it.

Once again, I apologize for the long wait, I hope the next one will be up soon!

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

~Ja!


	14. Aftermath

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Fourteen: Aftermath_

_Enjoy! (:_

…

Itachi wakes up in the middle of the night in the same position he had been in when he went to sleep some hours ago, leaning back against the headboard, arm propped up on his bent knee with the other leg stretched out in front of him. He notes that he is still alone on the bed, as he had been earlier, and wonders if Sakura had purposely stayed away because she is now uncomfortable sleeping in his presence, especially on the same bed. If that is the case, then it is unacceptable for her to stay in the washroom for the remainder of the night and he gets up to retrieve her.

He knocks on the bathroom door but gets no response and Itachi distantly thinks that she is being quite immature about this, because even though she may be hurt, trapping herself in the bathroom will not solve anything.

He opens the unlocked door to find Sakura laying on the floor. Her tear-stained cheeks causes a pang of guilt to run through Itachi as he picks her up carefully, allowing himself to enjoy her warmth against him for the last time. He carries her to the bed, placing her gently in the middle and tucks her in under the blankets before moving to sit on the ground. He leans back against the bed and lets his head fall against it as he closes is his eyes and attempts to get some sleep.

...

Sakura wakes up feeling warm but empty and her mind replays the events of last night, reminding her why she isn't wrapped up in her partner's arms. The reality of it sets in and she takes time to really think about what had happened, and what it going to happen from now on. In the midst of her pondering, she notices that she is alone on the bed and she sees Itachi leaning against the side of the bed.

'_What the hell?' _Inner Sakura says. _'If he was going to be such a baby about sharing a bed, he shouldn't have brought us here in the first place.'_

Sakura silently agrees with this and gets up from the bed none too gently, not caring whether she wakes him or not—Inner Sakura secretly wants him to wake up from her ruckus—and the petite medic makes her way to the bathroom to wash up.

Itachi does not wake up from the noise his partner makes in getting up, for he had already been awake long before. He simply watches her walk away, her hips taking a distinctly irritated sway to them and he has to remind himself not to notice things of this nature anymore.

The rest of the day is both awkward and extremely infuriating for Sakura as Itachi treats her coolly, as if he had only met her last month, and it hurts her more than she can explain, because she feels as though he has really thrown away his feelings for her. She spends the evening meditating and trying her best to ignore the presence mere feet away from her, sitting comfortably by the fireplace, content to read some book, unfazed by _her _presence.

...

Takeo sits thoughtfully at the Akuma HQ dining hall, staring into his thoroughly unappetizing, not to mention untouched, food. He ponders on the direction that the mission is now going, and estimates how much longer it may take to complete.

A man from the weapons department—Akihiko, he recalls—comes to sit beside him with a surprisingly and uncharacteristically friendly smile on his face.

"Where's Mai?" he asks good-naturedly, attempting to start a conversation, "I don't see you two apart very often."

A kunoichi comes by at this point to sit by them, her expression a grim mix of disturbed worried. "She's with Kei-sama. I saw him enter her room this morning, and when Kei-sama is with a woman, we know what that means." She seems quite distant after saying this, as if reliving a particularly frightening memory, if her expression is anything to go by.

"Ah, I see. Poor girl," Akihiko says, turning to Takeo to offer some kind of comfort, only to find him already gone. He turns to his companion and simply shrugs.

The first place Takeo thinks to look is in Mai's room. He does not bother to knock and simply breaks down the previously locked door. Upon finding an empty room, Takeo proceeds to search throughout the whole headquarters as a million and one possibilities pass through his mind about what may or may not be happening to his partner at that very moment.

He had been careless in his duty to protect her and a part of him wants to blame the fact that this past week has been awkward for them, not knowing how to treat each other. He's been trying to give her some space to sort out her own thoughts, as well as taking time to sort out his own, and he wonders briefly if perhaps he'd given her too much space. However, the other part of him wonders if he had been wrong in telling his partner that they cannot continue the way they had been going. In doing so, he had hoped to get his priorities straight and keep himself from endangering the mission, but he admits—as much as it hurts his pride—that Sakura may have been right in what she said. He has neglected the secondary mission that Tsunade-sama had given him and he mentally berates himself for his carelessness.

Takeo has searched everywhere and still has found no trace of either Sakura or Kei, which leaves him feeling unsettled, making him want to growl or something to release the tension—a clear testament to his frustration because an Uchiha, _Itachi_ especially, would never be caught doing something so primal and nearly barbaric as _growling, _so even considering it would normally be out of the question.

The last place he can think to look would be the small cottage, and although he doesn't exactly expect to find her there, he heads that way anyway for lack of anywhere else to look. He releases his henge after he's gotten a safe distance from the Akuma HQ, in a small, dark corner of a particularly deserted looking alley and he runs his hands through his now black and unbound mane in agitation.

Once Itachi is close enough to the cottage, he faintly senses a familiar presence there and he feels his breath leave is body in a heavy sigh. The relief that washes over him is more than a little foreign, for the last time he recalls feeling the slightest bit relieved about anything is when he was told that Anko would not be on his team for a reconnaissance mission about two years ago and that had been brief and inconsequential.

The raven-haired genius finds himself unconsciously quickening his steps to reach his destination that much quicker but when he finally reaches the door, he finds himself at a loss of what to say. He walks in nonetheless and trusts that the words will simply come to him when he sees his partner.

Sakura's head turns to the door at the sound of it opening. The quick gust of wind that enters in the time it takes for Itachi to walk in and close the door raises the hair on her arms, causing her to shiver. She merely nods in his general direction as a greeting but says nothing as she turns back to her reading material. She refuses to meet his gaze for fear of letting him see the hurt that had been present in her eyes mere seconds ago. She hates the weakness in her more than anything, that she had allowed herself to care for him despite all the warning signs that had blared so loudly in her face. The hurt she feels at how little she seems to mean to him, if he can just throw her away like he did and act so coolly toward her afterwards, is eating away at her—but she should have expected this. Given her naturally caring and vulnerable nature, of course she'd fall for Itachi and trust him unconditionally, and given her past with Uchiha men—all men in general, really—of course she'd get hurt in the end. But what's done is done, and now all she can do is hide the hurt from the one who had caused it.

"Sakura," Itachi calls in a tone she cannot quite name. He finds himself feeling slightly annoyed in the midst of his relief; he had searched all day for her and worried for her safety and she barely even acknowledges his presence.

"Yes?" the pinkette—looking slightly disheveled, Itachi notices—looks up from her medical text and watches him walk towards her and sit on dining chair opposite her.

"Why are you here?" He asks, his voice deceptively calm and cool, "Why did you leave without my knowing?"

If he had her attention before, he loses it with that question and Sakura returns to the suddenly interesting pages of her book.

"I can take care of myself," she tells him coldly, refusing to look up.

"You were with Kei," he in his characteristically blank tone.

The petite—suddenly panicked looking, Itachi notices—kunoichi manages to mask her surprise right away, but Itachi had seen it, no matter how brief it may have been.

Upon getting no response, he continues, allowing a hint of emotion work its way in voice, "Are you alright?"

Feeling that anger would be the best way to push him away and possibly get out of this situation, she harnesses any irritation or anger she may have previously felt towards her partner and stands up abruptly, slamming her hands on the table for good measure.

"I'm not a child, Itachi," she says vindictively, dropping her voice to a near whisper, "I told you, I can take care of myself."

Unfazed at her sudden break out, he, too, stands and moves around the table to stand directly in front of her. "Sakura," he calls once more and this time, she looks up to meet his gaze and he can see that her anger is slowly dissipating, "Did he hurt you?"

She can't explain the sudden wave of guilt that washes over her for being so cold to him despite his concern, nor can she even begin to describe the ache in her heart at not being able to take just one step forward and wrap her arms around him. She has missed him this past week more than she had ever imagined she would, despite never being very far from him; she misses knowing that if she needs some company, he would always be there, even if he didn't always offer a reply to her ranting, he'd listen; but most of all, she misses being able to talk to him normally, without any tension or feeling out of place. She looks away then, not wanting him to see what had just passed through her mind.

"No, I'm not…hurt," she says quietly and the hesitation in her voice causes Itachi to worry.

_... Flashback ...  
_

"_Mai-chan," Kei's sweet voice calls through the door of her room._

_Suddenly very slightly panicking, Mai tries her very best to feign sleep and just waits for him to leave. However, Kei knows she is awake from her uneven and fluttering chakra signature._

"_I know you're awake, so you had better open this door before I bust it open," he says, his voice losing the sweet tone he had earlier._

_Mai still refuses to answer the door or acknowledge Kei's presence and after some time, she hears his footsteps walking away from the room. She releases a sigh of immense relief and throws her feet over the side of the bed. She gets up slowly and takes a step from the bed before she freezes in complete, all-encompassing fear._

"_Mai-chan," she hears behind her in a voice so sickly sweet she feels her heartbeat stop before restarting at an impossibly fast pace._

"_Surprised?" the voice asks and before she can properly register what happened, she feels her breath knocked out of her and she falls back onto her bed. Her breath returns to her in short breaths, and faster than her eyes can follow, Kei is on her, pinning her arms to the bed._

"_How—" Mai manages to get out in between breaths._

"_I have keys to all but one room in this building, and that was my clone you heard leaving. I told you, Mai-chan, you're strong, but I'm stronger," Mai can hear the smirk in just his voice and she thrashes blindly, trying to get him off of her. However, she feels her strength leaving her rapidly and glares daggers at the man above her._

"_What did you do to me?" she demands, venom dripping from every word. She snarls at him and he finds that she somewhat resembles and injured kitten, making him desire her all the more._

"_I have drained you of more than half your chakra, and with that much gone, you won't be able to do much damage. Of course I couldn't drain you of all your chakra, I want you conscious for this," Kei nearly whispers in her ear, causing uncomfortable shivers to run down her spine._

_A part of her—the part that isn't thrashing about with her remaining strength— is inwardly thankful that he hadn't drained all of her chakra so her henge isn't removed and her identity revealed._

"_Tsk, tsk. We can't have you fighting like that," Kei says into her neck. Her panicked mind notes that he goes through a sequence of hand signs and she distantly feels a set of ropes snaking their way around her wrists._

_Maii feels the tears of fear and frustration building behind her eyes, but she refuses to give Kei the satisfaction of seeing her cry so she holds back her tears. She goes through all of her kunoichi training in an attempt to find some way out of this but nothing comes to mind. At this point, she is so panicked that she almost forgets that she _cannot _use her immense strength and wants nothing more than to be millions of miles away from this man._

"_Get off me," she manages through gritted teeth, weakly pulling against her restraints, but Kei effectively silences her by sealing his lips to hers._

"_Mmmph—!" Mai feels his tongue trying to push through and she gives him access, opening her mouth for him, only to bite down his tongue _hard.

"_Ouch!" Kei spits the blood on the floor before returning his attention to the girl beneath him. "Still got some fight in you, hm? Let's see what we can do about that."_

_He turns his attention to the nape of her neck and gently nibbles on the sensitive skin there eliciting a sharp gasp from Mai and she feels him smirk against her skin._

"_S—stop," she says weakly, hating that she's losing her fight._

_Kei's hands travel down her sides until they reach the hem of her shirt and he pauses briefly pausing before snaking his way under her shirt. _

_He runs his cool hands run across the smooth plane of her stomach and she whimpers at the contact, exciting him all the more. He pulls her shirt off of her completely, leaving it to pool around her bound wrists, and his hands travel up and down her sides, feeling her shaking slightly. He reaches around her to unclasp her bra and pulls it up to join her shirt at her wrists._

"_Please…stop," Mai nearly whispers, the tears fighting their way free from behind her eyelids._

_Kei laughs darkly against her neck, "I don't think so."_

_He brings his hands to cup her small breasts and kneads them, trying to elicit a reaction from the kunoichi beneath him. Mai shuts her eyes and bites her lip hard enough to draw blood, trying her best to keep any reaction from Kei. A small, still slightly optimistic part of her hopes that he will simply get bored and leave her alone. This, however, is not the case. It amuses and excites him that she is trying so hard to keep her reactions from him and it drives him to try to elicit something from her._

_His mouth travels lower, leaving a series of butterfly kisses and love bites, to the valley between her breasts before taking one erect nipple in his mouth while his other hand continues to knead her other breast. He hears a sharp gasp from the petite kunochi and he smirks against her skin. _

_This scares Mai more than anything, for her body seems to have stopped listening to her. She has never been on the receiving end of this kind of attention and she had always naively wished that she could save herself for her marriage night, but such a thing is not for a kunoichi. This attention is more than a little foreign to her and it confuses and scares her that her body has decided that it enjoys it, if the small pooling heat in the pit of her stomach is anything to go by. The tears are threatening to fall from her closed eyelids, but she fights to keep them at bay._

_Kei's free hand travels downward to rest at her hip, drawing lazy circles on her shorts as he switches his attention to her other breast. Mai's breath is coming to her in short pants at this point and she hardly registers that Kei has removed her shorts and underwear in one fell swoop until she feels the rush of cool air on her nether parts._

"_No…please, don't," she nearly begs weakly._

_Kei disregards her protests and inserts a finger in her slightly damp entrance. Mai gasps sharply at the sudden and foreign intrusion and she can no longer fight the tears._

"_Where's that sharp tongue of yours now, hm?" Kei asks, muffled by her breast, as he curls his single digit, eliciting a whimper from the woman beneath him. He slowly pumps his finger in and out of her, soon adding a second and third. _

"_Hmmm, you're a virgin?" he asks, suddenly _very _intrigued, "Interesting." He speeds up his curled fingers and continues to nibble and knead her breasts until she's panting and whimpering at his mercy. He feels her tightening around his digits and he knows she's close to the edge. Kei suddenly removes his hand from her nether lips and before Mai can decide whether to favour the whimper of distress at the sudden emptiness or the sigh of relief, she feels him seal his lips to her most secret of places, causing her to jump in surprise and try to struggle free from her restraints. Kei holds her hips down and runs his tongue down the length of her folds before entering slowly, feeling his male ego swell at the whimper and quiet moan that escapes the woman beneath him._

"_Stop…please stop," Mai cries weakly between pants._

_Once again, Kei ignores her pleas and continues his assault, once again feeling that she is close to completion. He pumps his tongue in and out of her, swirling his thumb around her clit and in no time at all, she is sent tumbling over the edge. He drinks her in greedily before returning his attention to the nape of her neck._

"_That, my dear Mai-chan," Kei whispers, as he kisses her tear-stained cheeks, "was an orgasm. I will bring you to many more, and you will learn to enjoy it." He watches her chest move up and down as she catches her breath and sobs at the same time. "But for now, I will let you rest. I will find you again," he says with a smirk. And with that, his weight disappears from her, along with the ropes on her wrists, leaving the small, broken girl to sob alone on her bed._

_... End Flashback ...  
_

Sakura had continued to cry for nearly an hour after Kei had left, cleaning the room all the while so that any sign of Kei's presence would be permanently erased. She had left her room soon after to go the small cottage to wash every inch of her body of Kei's essence. All throughout her shower, she had cried heavily as she scrubbed her skin raw. After crying for nearly the whole day, she forced herself to shove the entire event out of her mind and forget about it completely, or at least attempt to. Good thing she had, for Itachi had reached the cottage not too long after and the last thing Sakura wants is for Itachi to see her in such a pitiful state.

"Sakura," Itachi calls gently, sensing her turmoil. While he doesn't know exactly what happened, he knows that it wasn't something that could be brushed off. Wanting to comfort her in some way but not knowing exactly how he can do so, he reaches for her.

"Don't," Sakura says as she hits his hand away from her, suddenly aware of the tears that have started to fall. Itachi, however, does not let her go and reaches for her again, pulling her to his chest. She struggles half-heartedly in his strong hold for a few moments before falling limp and she simply allows him to support her full weight as she cries silently. She doesn't know if she's crying from her traumatizing experience earlier that day, or from the pain from the past week and simply missing Itachi. Whichever it is, or both, she does not hold back the tears, hating herself for yet again showing weakness, in front of Itachi no less, the one person she wants more than anyone else to think her strong.

Itachi does not know what to say, or even do, other than simply to hold her until her tears have subsided. He knows she probably needs more than he is giving her at the moment, that she needs someone to offer her words of comfort and to take all of the pain, and whatever else she may be feeling, away, but all he can do is silently offer his shoulder for her to cry on.

They stay that way for a while until Sakura eventually stops shaking and Itachi lets her go just enough to be able to look at her. She still refuses to meet his gaze, looking at the ground between them and she shoves him away, taking a few steps back to get some distance between her and her partner.

"Get away from me," she says quietly, lacking the malice she had hoped would be present in her voice. They are silent for a minute before she speaks again. "We're nothing more than captain and medic, remember?" She doesn't know what, exactly, she expects or hopes for him to say, but she knows that she wants him to say or do more than he has been this past week. Because even though she says that they are nothing more than captain and medic, she strongly disagrees with that fact and just wants him to show her that he does too. Of course, it would be foolish for her to ask that of him, but then again, Sakura has been nothing butfoolish when it comes to matters of this nature.

Itachi doesn't say anything at first, he simply looks at her with an unreadable expression on his face, as if he is considering an appropriate response, and Sakura wishes that just _once, _he wouldn't, that he would just say what first comes to his mind.

"Very well," he says finally before turning away.

'_That's it?' _Inner Sakura yells.

"_Wait_," Sakura says before Itachi can get too far away, her tone betraying her irritation and slight distress. He turns around and waits for her to continue, his face carefully blank.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" she demands, glaring daggers at her partner mere feet away.

"I can assure you, Sakura, that nothing is wrong with me," Itachi returns smoothly, seemingly unaffected by the young medic slowly unraveling before him.

"First you throw me away and treat me as no more than an acquaintance, then you come looking for me and don't heed any of my demands to get away from me, _then _you just walk away like you didn't just insist on having me cry in your arms. What are you trying to do, Uchiha? If this is just some game to amuse you, then I'm warning you, you better stop right here."

Itachi looks momentarily stunned at her accusation, for he had never expected her to think of him so lowly that he would simply toy with her feelings to pass the time. He catches himself before he heatedly denies her accusation, knowing that such a response would only cause further confusion and trouble for the both of them. He carefully puts together a neutral response that would placate her for the time being. He needs to think over what she had just said and what this really is to him; before he does that, he cannot have this conversation with her, for the outcome would be unpredictable.

"What do you want me to say, Sakura? Just what are you trying to get at here? Playing with people's emotions would be beneath me," Itachi says finally.

"I want you to say what you had just held yourself back from saying just moments ago."

Itachi pauses briefly, unable to find an appropriate response.

"That's right, I saw that you almost said something but stopped yourself. I'm not as blind as you seem to think I am. Just because I have a bubbly personality, that doesn't make me a ditz. I'm smarter and more perceptive than you seem to give me credit for."

Itachi takes a deep breath and prepares himself for what is to come. What he's about to say will be the beginning of a long conversation and the end will be one he cannot predict.

...

TBC

...

A/N:

Yes, I've left you all with a cliffhanger! *insert evil laugh here*

Because to be honest, I haven't quite decided which direction I want it to go from here. However, I'm quite proud to say that I have updated quite quickly this time, compared to the past few chapters.

I must say, this chapter was quite hard to write, and I know I've written a lemon before, but i had a really hard time writing this lime. It was hard to capture what Sakura was feeling about, but I hope I've done it some justice. I'd really love to hear you opinion on the turn that this fic has taken.

Thank you so much for reading

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

~Ja!


	15. Confrontations

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Fifteen: Confrontations_

_Enjoy! (:_

**WARNING!** My computer crashed recently and I haven't gotten a chance to install Microsoft Word so I haven't done a spell check or grammar check. I apologize for the many typos that I'm sure are littered about. I'll take a closer look at this chapter when I'm not ready to drop dead on my feet. I need to sleep ASAP so i don't have the energy or patience to go through this chapter.

I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

-Blue

…

When Itachi doesn't answer right away, Sakura finally snaps. Losing her patience with the insufferable, sorry excuse of a partner (disregarding the fact that he is one of the top ANBU captains in the village), she turns on her heel and simply walks out the door with no shield from the cold. The raven-haired genius simply stares for a few seconds at the spot his partner had previously occupied, slightly bemused, before he too leaves the warmth of the cottage, also ignoring his coat hanging by the door, to follow his partner.

She doesn't get far before Itachi catches up to her and, sensing his presence behind her, she turns around abruptly and throws a good punch to his face. He easily catches the blow aimed to his head seeing as it lacks the chakra that is usually present.

"Sakura—" he starts, but she is gone before he can continue and he senses her behind him, another blow aimed at his head. He pivots on his heel to catch her right hand and sweeps his leg out in an attempt to knock her off her feet but she leaps into the air, anticipating his fighting style—she hasn't trained under him the past few weeks and didn't learn to read him a little better than most. Using gravity to add to the force of her kick, she comes down at him, fully intending to cause him more than a little bodily harm. Of course, Uchiha Itachi is not called a genius for nothing; with about as much effort as it would take to pick up a piece of paper, he dodges her blow and knocks her to the icy ground beneath them with a little more force than necessary, his frustration getting the better of him. He pins her there before she can get up and come at him again, using one hand to hold her hands above her head and straddles her waist to keep her in place. His frustration slowly takes over and he simply glares at the woman beneath him. He had spent the entire day searching for her, beside himself with worry and dreading what he may find and all she wants to do now is cause as much physical harm as her position will allow her. He cannot, for the life of him, figure out what is going through her mind, which is new to him because he's always been able to read people fairly easily, and he finds his inability to understand her quite infuriating.

"Don't touch me," she spits at him with as much venom as she can muster. This morning, she had wanted nothing more than for him to hold her in his arms and have his full attention, but now that she's got it, she wants nothing more than to be free of it. Their argument today had made her realize that she probably cares about Itachi far more than he cared about her, or ever would, and it _hurt. _He had made his priorities clear to her and his actions told her—hell, they practically screamed it out—that he only cares about completing this mission successfully. If his cold responses are anything to go by, then it would be safe to say that he really doesn't care much for her at the moment. She supposes she can't blame him too much. She had known all along that this was far too good to be true and it seems that he's realized it too.

"Funny you should say that, considering you had tried to do more than simply 'touch' me mere seconds ago," he says to her coldly, his anger building on the surface, waiting to be released.

The furious kunoichi doesn't say anything and simply glares daggers at the man above her. Neither of them say anything for a long time, but when Sakura has finally had enough, she closes her eyes. When she opens them again, she is no longer glaring; she looks so defeated it reminds Itachi of a small puppy that's been kicked cruelly by it's owner. He bfiefly wonders if he could, hypothetically, be considered the owner that kicked her, though he realizes she would be furious with him for considering her his property.

"I'm sorry," she whispers finally, refusing to meet her partner's gaze.

He isn't sure what she's apologizing for, but she's calmer now and he no longer feels the need to hold her down. He lets go of her wrists and stands up, waiting for her to follow suit. She rubs her wrists absently and stands up as well. When she looks up at him again, the pain is so evident in Sakura's eyes makes Itachi's chest tighten uncomfortably and he can do nothing but watch the woman he has come to care so much about fall apart before him.

"Let's just stop this now," she says after some time, "I don't want to do this anymore."

Once again, before Itachi can even get a word in, she disappears and he senses her chakra going back to the cottage. Fed up with her tendency to run away, he too makes his way to the cottage and makes it there before his partner.

Sakura walks in utterly dejected, her gaze directed to the ground, tears ready to fall at any minute. She freezes when she sees Itachi waiting for her mere feet away, but he walks over to her and wraps a warm blanket around her before she can say anything to him.

The young ANBU captain doesn't step away after he's secured the blanket around his partner and speaks before she can run away again.

"You had asked me to speak my mind, Sakura, and yet you have done nothing but run away before I had the chance to," he says softly, hoping to soothe her obviously frayed nerves. "This is not a mere game for me to amuse myself with," Itachi says after a few moments, his tone sounding more defeated than she has ever heard, which, in reality, is only slightly defeated, but the fact the _Uchiha Itachi _is using this tone with her speaks volumes about his sincerity. However, a mere change in tone isn't enough for her to forget that Itachi had hurt her more than she cares to admit and, unintentionally or not, made her feel like a toy, a thing for amusement. Sakura steps away to look him in the eye without having to tilt her head up at an uncomfortable angle.

"Then what is it, exactly?" She demands with less authority than she would have liked.

"You are," he pauses to find an appropriate word, "different. Fascinating, even."

Such an open admittance from him, of all people, leaves her speechless and breathless. She feels her heart beating increasingly faster, at a pace she is sure cannot be healthy, but her heart refuses to listen to her demands to calm down.

"I had not intended to pursue a romantic relationship with you when I accepted this mission, but my growing attraction to you proved to be something I could not simply ignore." Sakura opens her mouth to say something, but when no sound comes out, she clamps her mouth shut and Itachi continues. "However, despite my attraction and recent protectiveness, I cannot endanger the mission, and potentially the village because of my selfishness."

She knows it's extremely petty of her, but it hurts her just a little to hear that Itachi puts the well-being of some unnamed strangers in the village before her, but she knows that he was raised to be the perfect soldier; to always put the village in his best interest and clearly, she doesn't quite fit in there—at least not in the way she'd like to. She knows it's selfish of her, but a small—unheeded of course—part of her wants to tell him to forget them, because she so desperately wants to reach out to him now and bury her face in his chest while he strokes her hair as he has done so many times before.

"You have become more important to me than I had expected, and that is the exact reason I have proposed our separation," he finishes quietly, leaving a stifling silence to settle about the small cottage.

"Have you stopped caring about me, Itachi?" Sakura asks hesitantly, a small part of her afraid to know the answer.

"...No," he says after some time.

"Well, have your feelings about me changed?" She asks, his answer giving her just a bit more courage.

"...No," he repeats, the hesitation in his voice a little more prominent this time.

"Then," she starts, taking a small step closer to him, "what have you achieved?"

Itachi doesn't give her an answer, simply stares into the mesmerizing emerald orbs, looking up at him. He isn't sure he even knows the answer to her question; perhaps he has achieved nothing at all.

Upon receiving no answer, she rephrases her question softly, "What did you hope to achieve?"

"I had hoped to regain my perspective and successfully finish this mission," he says after some careful consideration.

"And then what?"

Sakura doesn't mean to sound like she's interrogating him, or pushing him to realize his faulty logic, she's just genuinely curious as to what is going on in his mind. Itachi knows this, for he can tell by the look in her eyes, one he cannot name.

"Then," he starts, watching his petite partner carefully, "We simply continue on, however our situation ends up after the mission, we will work it out from there."

She doesn't like this answer and he can tell by the way her face falls just a little bit and she breaks eye contact in favour of staring at his collarbone. It hurts her to hear that Itachi had been willing and ready to move on so easily, if that's how 'things end up'.

"I see," is all she says.

Itachi had been fully expecting her to scold him for his logic, which he was sure she'd deemed irrational. If not scolding, at least some form of expression that would tell him she's angry with him. He certainly had not expected this silence and easy submission. He isn't sure if he likes this on Sakura; he's gotten accustomed to her fiery attitude and this Sakura standing in front of him is more like a doused fire, slowly burning out. He supposes that, logically, he should be happy that she's finally accepting his decision, but a part of him feels guilty that he is the direct cause of her dejection.

As if sensing his thoughts, Sakura looks up at him, a determined look on her face, "Can't we get past this, somehow? Why can't we continue with the mission and—"

"There's a reason that colleagues don't engage in intimate relationships, especially in our profession," Itachi says, smoothly cutting her off.

"...Some of them do," she informs him.

Itachi can't help but smirk at his ever-determined partner and his smirk eventually melts into a small smile. This catches her off-guard for his rare smiles always do, but before she can ask him what's so funny, she feels herself being pulled to him, which isn't a large distance at all, for they had gradually come closer in the course of their conversation. The stunned medic stills at the feeling of her captain's crashing his lips to hers, but her surprise is short-lived and she responds to his advances favourably.

He hadn't been planning on this outcome when he had come to the cottage to look for Sakura earlier, but one thing led to another, and Itachi has realized that this woman in his arms could possibly be the best thing that's happened to him. There are many things he would readily risk for the sake of the village, but he's come to see that Sakura isn't one of them. If she's willing to fight for him to stay with her, then he'd be damned if he wasn't willing to do the same. He'd figure out the consequences of his selfishness later, but for now, he simply wants to focus on the woman in his arms.

Itachi gently nips at Sakura's bottom lip and she easily grants him access, parting her lips and angling her head to give him better access to her cavern. He hears her moan softly at the contact and he realizes just how much he had missed her during their separation. Wrapping an arm around her waist and tangling his other hand in her rosette locks, he deepens the kiss and shows her just how sorry he is, because he knows she prefers he tell her through his actions rather than words.

*.*

"So," Sakura says softly, afraid to interrupt the peaceful silence that has settled as the two sit in front of the warm fireplace, "What now?"

"I wish to pursue a steady relationship," Itachi admits openly, making Sakura's chest twist in happiness and excitement. "However," he continues, "Perhaps we should wait until the mission is over to discuss details and make any final decisions. I do not wish to endanger you, this mission, or the village with any distractions."

"You're right," he hears his partner mumble as she leans against his shoulder.

They sit peacefully at the fireplace, stealing heat from the healthy fire and from each other. It's times like these that makes Sakura wish she were just a civilian who enjoyed simple moments like this every day.

"Sakura," Itachi says softly into her hair.

"Hm?"

The Uchiha prodigy pulls slightly away from his petite partner to look into her eyes. "What happened with Kei?" he asks in a tone she was used to hearing from him before the mission started when he referred to her parents. He asks so quietly as though his volume would help soothe her, and once again, it does, if only a little.

Sakura drops her gaze to a point past his shouldner, unable to look him in the eye, and she inches away from him, more ashamed than ever. The tears threaten to spill once more at the memory and humiliation and she doesn't know if she can even face Itachi right now.

Disliking the space she has put between them, Itachi reaches for her, only to have her move even further from him, looking like an injured animal trying to get away from its captor. He can easily see the tears forming as she fights to blink them away.

"I'm sorry," he says finally, "I shouldn't have asked." If he didn't already know what had happened to her, he sure as hell knows now, given her reaction to his question. He can tell she's in pain about it and he does not want to cause her further pain, therefore, he will not push for her to talk about it. If one day she is ready and willing to tell him exactly what happened to her, then he will gladly listen and offer a shoulder for her to cry on.

"I wish I could tell you, Itachi. I really do, but I can't bear to talk about it..." Sakrua tells him apologetically in a voice that makes Itachi's chest twist with anger towards Kei and sympathy towards his partner.

"If you are uncomfortable with it, you need not speak of it. I will not ask again."

Sakura can say nothing for fear of the tears escaping, but she gives him a look of gratitude and she stares once more into the fire, though this time a good 6 inches away from her partner. Itachi doesn't miss the way her hands crawl out to about halfway in between them and he meets her in the middle, taking her hand in his and simply holding it. It has been a long day for the both of them and dos not wish to complicate things further.

He doesn't know how long this will last, but for now, this is enough for him.

*.*

Itachi sighs silently as he pulls the blanket tighter around his sleeping partner. Looking at her peaceful face now, he can easily see the dark circles forming under her eyes from stress and fatigue and he can't help but fee mostly responsible for her being this way.

Unable to even attempt to sleep, he resumes his place by the fire. By now, the relief and surprise have long since passed, leaving behind a consuming, barely contained anger in its place. The thought of what Sakura had to endure earlier that day causes the sharingan to activate on its own accord. An image of Kei flashes across his mind and he has to consciously remind himself not to let any chakra escape in the midst of his anger. Itachi tries his best to calm his mind by meditating. . . and fails, which is rare in itself for _the _Uchiha Itachi—all Uchihas really, are known for their steely control.

Knowing only one sure-fire way to quell his anger, he takes one last glance at his partner to make sure she's still asleep before leaving the warmth of the cottage and dashing off into the night in search of a certain Akuma member and the reason for his rage.

*.*

To Be Continued

*.*

A/N: So here it is. a lot of people have been asking for this to be resolved and now it is! I know I said I'd finish the story before summer ends, but I highly doubt that's going to happen. This chapter didn't move the story too much but it was something I think I really needed to get through before the plot could really move on. after this though, we'll definitely see some progress in the mission and it should be over within the next 3 or so chapters (the mission, not the story)? If no new ideas come to mind, that is.

I know it's quite a bit shorter than you're used to but i felt that this was a good place to cut it off because this chapter was mostly dedicated to addressing the problem between the two. The next one will be longer!

Thank you so much for reading

Suggestions, advice, support, anything ! Feedback/reviews makes me suuper happy :D

~Ja!


	16. The Truth Revealed

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Sixteen: The Truth Revealed_

_Enjoy! (:_

0-0-0-0

"Ah, Takeo-san," Kei says in a voice so sugary and pleasant that promises mischief. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Itachi, disguised as Takeo, emerges from the dark corner of the nearly empty common rooms. He says nothing in reply and simply watches the man in front of him.

"As wordless as ever, I see."

Again, Takeo has no reply and the killing intent emanating from him amplifies with the false smile Kei beams.

"Am I right to assume that you are here because of what happened to dear Mai-chan?"

The wordless man does nothing to confirm or refute the assumption.

"Hm, I see. Well, let me advise you then, that this is not a good idea. I have seen you fight and I know your style, but you do not know mine. I am stronger than you, Takeo-san, there is a reason that I am the right-hand around here."

Again, Takeo says nothing and simply waits for Kei to either finish talking or to take the first move.

"Very well, since you insist, let us take this outside" And with that, Kei disappears from Takeo's sight.

Takeo follows the familiar chakra signature to a faraway field that is much better lit by the moonlight than the common room they had occupied mere moments ago. Fighting without his sharingan will be…troublesome, to say the least, but he wants to maintain the element of surprise and decides not to let on about his true identity until he fully understands Kei's abilities.

(1)"Who the hell are you?" Kei demands, gripping his side and coughing up blood.

"That does not concern you," Itachi, having dropped his henge long ago, tells the man.

Kei drops to his knees and coughs up more blood. Knowing that he will not survive tonight, he gets careless with his words and attempts to frustrate—no, enrage—the man, if nothing else.

"She was absolutely fascinating, you know," Kei says with a smirk, pleased to see the stranger before him gritting his teeth. "She's a virgin, so I assume you've yet to take her then? I'm glad I was the first to show her what it feels—"

Before he can finish his sentence, Itachi cleanly slices the head right from his shoulders. Satisfied with his work, Itachi makes his way back to the cottage he shares with Sakura, not bothering to replace his henge.

_0-0-0-0_

Sakura wakes up from a restless sleep feeling more than a little disoriented. She sits up in bed and looks around, searching for her partner, only to find herself sitting alone.

"Itachi?" she calls out hesitantly, slightly worried what could have happened to him and how she had slept through it, if there had been any kind of struggle.

As if her call had summoned him, Itachi enters their cottage and Sakura immediately notices his dangerously low chakra levels and his blood soaked clothes. Her eyes widen in shock and she is by his side immediately.

"What happened?" she asks, more than a little scared now and starting to panic as she leads him to the bed, already starting to push her chakra into his system to numb some of the pain she can only guess he must be enduring.

Itachi sighs quietly once his head hits the soft pillow and he closes his eyes tiredly, only able to spare a brief glance at Sakura before his consciousness leaves him.

The petite medic can feel residual traces of chakra on Itachi, chakra that doesn't belong to him. She had been trying everything to forget the feel of this chakra, but she has no doubt that it belongs to Kei. She can only guess at what Itachi had done that night and she doesn't know what to say or think about it. But before she can dissect that piece of information, she knows she must first focus on healing her partner.

/0/0/0/

After a small amount of probing around her captain's system, she finds that he isn't nearly as bad off as she had initially expected. Most of the blood he had been covered in wasn't even his and she could only assume that the owner of the blood and the traces of chakra she found were one and the same. He had one rather alarming wound running the entire length of his left leg and was in danger of infection when she first saw it, and although it was a severe injury, it certainly wasn't the worst she'd seen—especially not on this particular patient. A few less worrying injuries were scattered on his person, which she had dealt with quickly, but that was the extent of his injuries. While she is extremely relieved that he didn't return to her on the edge of death with several fatal wounds, something just didn't add up. If he had gotten so injured with the other targets they were assigned to apprehend and return to Konoha, then why wasn't he now? Not that she wanted him to be, of course! If Kei is the second in command of the organization, how was he so much weaker than his subordinates?

Other than the dangerously low chakra levels Itachi returned with, she would never have guessed that Kei was 2nd from the top, judging by the injuries alone. She _does_ recall a draining feeling when she had encountered him last and she wonders if he'd used the same technique on Itachi, explaining the low levels. Of course being able to even get Itachi's levels that low _is _impressive in itself, but still, this seems to be the level that their previous targets had been at, not the supposed second in command.

Before she can think more on the matter, she feels her partner stir and she watches him as he blinks his eyes open and focuses his attention on her. He pushes himself up into a sitting position easily enough and simply watches his petite mate. Neither say anything for a long time, each caught up in their own thoughts as they regard the other silently.

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asks finally.

"I am well, thanks to you."

She smiles mildly and tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. This seems to catch Itachi's attention and he moves his hand to run through her hair, examining it closely, as if it were the most fascinating thing. The motion causes Sakura to blush and she simply looks down at her lap, wondering what's going on through her captain's mind.

"I have dealt with Kei," the raven haired genius says after some time, his hand still toying with his partner's hair. The corner of Sakura's mouth lifts slightly, not quite a smile. He can see it still hurts her to even hear the name but the pain in her eyes is accompanied by something else—_gratitude._

"Thank you," she whispers silently and she finally meets his gaze.

Itachi simply nods and gently pulls her to his chest, briefly placing a chaste kiss on the top of her head before standing from the bed. He makes his way to the bathroom to wash the smell of his battle from his person. She watches his retreating figure, her mind still trying to figure out how Kei could possibly have been the second in command.

_0-0-0-0_

Itachi and Sakura don't have much time left to complete their mission, now that Itachi has made a move that would undoubtedly draw attention to them; it's only a matter of time before someone is sent looking for Kei and realizes what had happened. Sakura had practically forced Itachi to rest and regain his chakra, leaving her some time to try and figure out their next move. She has an idea of what _she _could do, but she's certain Itachi would certainly _not _approve. Traces of her captain's chakra would have been left around the premises of his battle, indicating just who had done the deed and she knows that remaining undercover would be useless. _She, _however, has yet to be identified and suspected of anything, so she can still roam around the base without _too _much suspicion surrounding her. Of course, Takeo had been her partner, which she supposes is fairly suspicious, but she would act as though she had no idea he had been undercover. She would certainly be taken in for questioning anyway, and with any luck they would take her to the leader directly. That would be her only chance. If she asks Itachi for his plan, she's almost one hundred percent sure that hes going to tell her that they're going to sneak in, which is sure to _much _bloodier because they'd have to go through all of the guards and theyd be guessing at the leader's location.

Sakura isn't certain if she's strong enough to do this, but she'd be damned if she didn't at least try. The petite medic, eager to show Itachi and the rest of Konoha how much she's improved—equally eager to prove to _herself—_steels her nerves and decides to take this course of action.

It's incredibly reckless and stupid, she knows, but it's the best chance they have right now—the most direct path to the leader.

Looking at her resting partner, she brushes a stray strand of hair away from his face and silently apologizes for what she's about to do before preparing her supplies and silently leaving the small cottage.

She casts a genjutsu around her makeshift home and darts off towards the headquarters she's come to despise more than anything

_0-0-0-0_

Sakura, now disguised as Mai, follows an unnamed stranger down an unfamiliar hallway. Just like she had predicted, she was told of her partner's crimes and taken to be questioned by their leader. They stop in front of a large set of doors and the man leading her knocks on the extravagant oak before him.

"Enter," comes a muffled voice and before she can re-recite her plan in her mind, she is pushed through the doors which close loudly behind her.

"We finally meet," a familiar voice says, coming from a man seated at a table at the end of the large room. The voice is familiar, having heard it before when being briefed for missions, but the face is not one she has ever seen before.

Sakura doesn't waste any time at all and jumps at the only other person in the room.

It doesn't come as a surprise to her that he immediately dodges her attack and they engage in a fight that Sakura knows she has little chance of coming out the victor. The difference in skill is startlingly clear; while she is able to keep up with him for the most part, it takes more energy out of her than she can afford and she can see that the man before her isn't having as hard a time as she is.

_0-0-0-0_

Bloody and fairly desperate, Sakura narrows her eyes in an attempt to concentrate the last of her chakra to execute a technique Itachi had been helping her develop recently. It has yet to be perfected, but she knows if she can pull this off, she _could _actually take him out. Before she can finish concentrating her chakra in the right places, however, she feels her opponent's presence behind her and she can't turn around fast enough to avoid a blow to her pressure point, knocking her unconscious.

_0-0-0-0_

Sakura stirs, her mind registering a cold floor and something heavy attached to her limbs. She's almost completely drained of her chakra and she knows that her henge is not in place anymore, alerting her captor that she had in fact been under cover. She opens her eyes slowly, trying in vain to ignore the fact that the blood she smells is unmistakably hers. She gets up from her slumped position, discovering the weight she'd noticed earlier to be chains.

'_Pathetic,' _her inner persona supplies, knowing she could easily break the chains. When the heavily injured medic nin tries to mold some chakra to her hands to heal herself before attempting an escape, she whimpers feebly at the pain that erupts at her wrists where the chains are attached.

It seems her captor is _somewhat_ more intelligent than she had given him credit for, holding her down with chakra laden chains that burn the place of contact when she attempts to mold her chakra.

"Hmm Sakura-chan, we finally meet," she vaguely hears, but she can't find a face to match with the voice.

"What business do you have with me?" she demands, her voice dripping with venom. The voice chuckles darkly and she's beginning to get frustrated with the fact that she can't see who's speaking.

She hears footsteps from her right and she immediately turns to face the sound, only to clutch her head at the pain of moving so quickly. A man emerges from the darkness, his appearance nothing impressive, and he seems to be about her father`s age, perhaps a little older. She recognizes this man to be the one she'd been fighting earlier.

'_So _this_ is the leader,'_ she thinks to herself.

"You've made my job a lot easier by coming here," the man says.

Sakura glares at the man but does not reply.

"Does the name Shizuma Takumi ring any bells?"

"None at all," she says with narrowed eyes.

"Hm, it looks like your village still has not informed you. Very well then, let me tell you a story, Sakura-chan,"

"Stop calling me that," she spits out and she's met with that chuckle again

"Several years ago, I too was a Konoha ninja," the mysterious man begins, ignoring her previous demand.

Sakura tenses further, a million questions running through her mind

"As a matter of fact, I was a jounin of the village. One night, I was assigned a mission from the Sandiame, along with your father and a few of our comrades. We completed our mission successfully and were on the way home, but we were ambushed just before the border of Fire Country. Your father, being the ever efficient ninja he was, took care of his opponents easily enough, and instead of simply dealing with his own injuries, he had to interfere in _my _battle." Kajou adopts a faraway look, as if reliving something—something particularly bitter, if his expression is any indication. "He took out all of _my_ enemies, thinking I couldn't handle it myself. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?"

She doesn't say anything, doesn't even look at him, because as hard as it is to admit, she _does _know what that feels like, having the great Copy Ninja, Kyubi Jinchuuriki, and an Uchiha on your team tends to do that to you. She was long past the bitterness and she had grown because of it, but it was a dark time for her.

"Everyone thought I was too weak, like I wasn't good enough," he continues, "Every time I tried to challenge him, he always brushed me off as though I wasn't worth anything. One day, he finally said yes, he would fight me. I finally had my chance to defeat him. And do you know what happened, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm sure you'll tell me anyway," she drawls, pretending as though this story doesn't interest her in the slightest.

"He didn't just defeat me, he wiped the floor with me, in front of the woman I loved, everyone in the village, _everyone_. Can you guess who that was Sakura-chan?"

"I said _stop calling me that,_" she bites out.

"It was your darling mother. Humiliated in front of the love of my life, and then he goes and marries her. Just like that. I swore I would get even with him, he _destroyed _my life."

"You're wrong!" Sakura suddenly speaks up, ignoring the pain it causes her. "You ruined your own life. You weren't strong enough to deal with your issues yourself so you had to find someone else to blame, to place your anger on. It was your own weakness that led you to this!" Her voice drops to a near whisper, "Do _not _blame my father for _your_ mistakes."

Kajou continues, ignoring Sakura's words, "On February 21st, your father was given a mission, and on February 21st, I got my revenge on your father, and a year after that, your mother joined him,"

Sakura's hands tremble in suppressed anger. Images of her mother's bedroom, limbs scattered and blood everywhere flood her mind, making it nearly impossible to keep her temper under wraps.

"And now you're next Sakura chan," the clearly insane man grins maniacally as he eyes her tattered body. "But before then, let's have some fun. Kei tells me you're quite the treat. And I'll have to pay you and your partner back for killing my nephew." Sakura tenses further at this; their relation would explain Kei's position in the deadly organization despite his skill, or lack thereof.

"So we'll have to make sure he joins the party—Uchiha Itachi, if I'm not mistaken. Quite an impressive captain you've got. And he certainly will come after he hears that I've got you. And I'm sure he'll know that I have less than innocent plans for you."

0-0-0-0

**Author's Note:** I'm Back! I wasn't sure if I was going to come back to this one, and to be honest, I almost didn't. I realized though that I do enjoy this story and I do want to continue it. Now that exams and classes are over—until September, that is—I have a little more time to update. However, don't expect too many updates; I'm currently working two part time jobs and doing a lot of volunteer work so although I don't have school right now, I do keep myself quite busy.

I know I said this last year, but I would like to be able to finish this story by the end of the summer. Maybe then I can start with something fresh and new. I must say, I'm quite rusty with my writing, so you'll have to forgive the lack of skill and style for this chapter.

1.) I've written enough fight scenes up till now that I really wasn't in the mood to write another one. I fear they all start to sound the same…

quick poll: Who should Sakura be paired with for my next oneshot?

a.) Itachi, of course!

b.) Neji

c.) Kakashi

d.) Naruto

e.) Other; let me know!

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and please please please review; let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions. It certainly inspires me to read your reviews!

Ja ne!


	17. Unseeing Eyes

_**Beyond Words**_

_Chapter Seventeen: Unseeing eyes_

_Enjoy! (:_

Sakura, despite the incredibly grim circumstances she's managed to land herself in, finds herself caught between hoping that Itachi will come and get her away from the sick bastard who had taken both of her parents from her, and hoping that Itachi _won't _come and get her. On one hand, this is an issue between _her _and Shizuma, something she had foolishly gotten herself into, and something that she knows _she _needs to deal with if she has any hope of moving on with her life and stop silently grieving for her parents every day of her life. However, the look in her captor's eyes—one of hunger and twisted satisfaction—is so utterly disgusting, revolting, and every other synonymous adjective in the dictionary, that it makes her want to empty the non-existent contents of her stomach. She can't help but feel like his prey, being chained up like she is as he advances towards her in a way that can only be described as predatory. That being said, how could she _not_ be hoping for Itachi, or anyone for that matter, to break down that blasted door and take her far, _far _away from here.

"As I have told you," the other occupant of the room says suddenly, forcing Sakura from her train of thought, "I am Shizuma Takumi; however, I go by one other name. Would you like to venture a guess at what it is, Sakura-chan?"

The pink haired medic fights down the shudder of apprehension as her captor stops right in front of her and bends down, stroking her cheek in a way that could be affectionate—had it been _any _other person and she wasn't chained up and bloody. He leans in and she can distinctly feel him inhale in her hair before he speaks again.

"Hasegawa Kajou," he says simply before latching his lips on her vulnerable, albeit bloody neck.

Sakura whimpers weakly at the discomfort and dread that washes through her, but through the haze of her fear, she realizes that this is her primary target. The last one she and Itachi have yet to detain. Of course it had to be the leader of the entire organization too.

"Ah, we have company," she hears him whisper, and—thank the heavens—he steps away from her.

Sakura recognizes the familiar presence from somewhere to her right, and despite the intense pain and discomfort she's currently feeling, her heart leaps as she realizes that she's safe now. Itachi's here, so she's safe. She releases a breath she hadn't realized she was even holding and slumps further into the wall behind her.

"Itachi," she breathes in relief as she glances to his form, free from any henge. She doesn't even realize she'd said his name out loud until her throat burns at her attempt to speak. It comes out as more of a strangled whisper and she wonders if he'd heard her at all—a part of her hopes he didn't, because if that doesn't scream damsel in distress, then she doesn't know what does.

She vaguely registers that Takumi, or Kajou, or _whoever _he really is, is saying something to her captain but she doesn't understand what it is, exactly. It takes a little while, but she steels her resolve and tries her damned hardest to free herself from the chains. If Itachi's going to fight their primary target, she's going to _need _to be ready to heal his injuries after, since she isn't in any condition to help him out in the actual fight. A part of her hopes that she'd at least tired him out—even a little bit—so he has that much less chakra than Itachi does.

The two men in the dark room are so focused on each other, sizing the other up, and Sakura hopes and prays that Takumi is distracted enough to not notice that she's slipping out of her chakra restraints, or that he's overconfident enough to think that letting her free now doesn't make a difference. She ignores the burning sensation on her limbs as she forces enough chakra to them to get the chains off. Sakura's breath leaves her in a relieved sigh and she simply stays in the same spot trying to catch her breath and heal the more pressing injuries.

Itachi allows his eyes to slip to Sakura's form as he takes in the many injuries she'd sustained; her clothes are soaked with blood and she looks worse for wear. He's quite frustrated with her tendency to ignore orders and blindly rush into dangerous situations by herself, but looking at her bloody form and pained stance now, he easily forgets his frustration—for now anyway—and is replaced with concern. He wants nothing more than to take her in his arms and get her far away from here. This desire is even stronger than the one to kill her captor, to ensure his slow and painful death for ever having touched Sakura. Of course, he doesn't act on it and simply returns his gaze to the man in front of him. A part of him notes the frustrating irony that Sakura's captor is their primary target, meaning he can't kill the man but he'd be damned if he doesn't make sure that Hasegawa Kajou suffers indescribable amounts of pain before he's sent to Konoha for questioning.

Sakura's scolding will simply have to wait.

As soon as Takumi, or Kajou, finishes speaking, Itachi doesn't hesitate to make the first move. Faster than even a trained shinobi's eyes can follow, he is behind Takumi and there is a kunai where his heart should have been. Of course, he didn't become the leader of the organization being weak and lazy, so in half a second, he is the one behind Itachi and the two engage in a taijutsu battle that even Itachi has to admit is challenging. He drops to the ground in a low crouch just in time to dodge a hard blow to his head, swinging his leg up to collide with Kajou's chest. He smirks in satisfaction when he feels the impact and hears a grunt of pain from his opponent's mouth but he knows better than to think that just because he'd landed a hit that it's over. As if reading his mind, Kajou is on him once more with a series of kicks and punches, trying to get just one good hit on him.

0-0-0

The injured medic blocks the clashes of metal, the heat of a katon jutsu that she assumes is Itachi's, and the string of curses that she notes with satisfaction is from Takumi, as she focuses on resetting her broken rib, closing the wound on her leg, healing the burn that covers her entire left arm, and patching up her punctured lung.

At the choked cry of her captor, Sakura looks up from her work; seeing him fall to the ground, covered in burns and blood, is more than a little satisfying, though she's just a little worried at why the battle seemed to end much quicker than she had expected. She fixes her gaze on Itachi to examine the extent of his injuries; he seems to have fared much better than his opponent with a few injuries but her eyes widen in alarm as she takes in the streak of blood that travels down his face coming from his left eye.

"Itachi!" she calls out, her distress easily detectable in her voice. Ignoring the pain it causes her, Sakura jolts up from her sitting position and is at Itachi's side immediately and guides him to sit on the desk in the corner of the room.

"How the hell did this happen, Itachi?"

"We have to secure the target."

"Not until I look at your eye. Can you even see anything?"

"Sakura," Itachi says simply, trusting that she will understand the urgency of the situation. They need to get Shizuma Takumi on his way to Konoha as soon as possible so they can get out of there before someone realizes that something happened. When someone finds the bloody room, hell will break loose within the organization and dissolving the organization will be easier that way. But if someone finds the bloody room with them still in it, it'll be more than troublesome to get out and Itachi isn't sure he can guarantee their safety if that happens.

Too exhausted to argue, and knowing that every second spent _trying _to argue will just be another second Itachi's eyes will be left unchecked, Sakura sighs in defeat and stand aside to allow Itachi to do what he needs so they can get the hell out of there.

Her captain's crow summons appears in the room and they load the target onto the giant crow's back before he takes off towards Konoha. Sakura and Itachi share a quick look of understanding and a second later, the room is completely empty, save for the large amounts of blood on the walls and floor.

0-0-0

Sakura collapses on the familiar bed of the cottage, feeling more exhausted now that she can remember feeling since this mission started. Spending a few hours healing up Itachi's wounds after what she had been through previously had taken more out of her than she knew she had. Regardless of how tired she is though, she can't even think of sleeping, not after what she's just discovered. She turns her head to gaze at her partner sleeping fitfully, no doubt more than a little uncomfortable from the intense healing he'd just gone through, but it's not like she had any chakra to spare to soothe him.

The troubled medic brushes a strand of hair from her partner's eye and follows the track of dried blood down his face. After assessing the damage done to his eyes, she'd found excessive chakra burns from focusing too much chakra to them for extended periods of time, not giving them enough time to recuperate. He had probably used them in his fight with Kei, and although he had come back in much better condition than she'd expected, she knows that fight probably wasn't an easy one. He _had _come back with alarmingly low chakra levels after all. Then too soon after, he'd come to save her, Sakura recall's bitterly, face scrunching in displeasure at the thought of being saved like some helpless princess from a fairy tale. She doesn't know exactly how that had gone down, but she's sure that he'd used his Mangekyou, since using the regular Sharingan for extended periods of time doesn't damage the eyes nearly as bad as Itachi's had been.

Her eyes are suddenly so heavy she can hardly think of anything _but _sleeping, so she closes them, taking one last look at her partner before falling into a fitful sleep.

0-0-0

"What you did was foolish, Sakura," is the first greeting she gets the next morning after her much needed shower—she hadn't bothered to wash the blood off her body last night.

Of course he'd be upset with her. She had acted recklessly, hadn't told him what she was going to do—which could technically be filed under insubordination—and her actions had put her, Itachi, and the mission at risk. The petite medic tenses in apprehension as she turns to face her stoic captain standing by the small kitchen area.

"You knowingly put yourself in danger. You couldn't possibly have thought you could handle it by yourself, did you?" Itachi doesn't understand why he's so upset with her. Shouldn't he be relieved that she's alright now? Shouldn't he be happy that she's away from that _monster, _and that she's safe from the threat of him taking her life now? He supposes he _does _feel these things, but his anger and disappointment are at the forefront of his mind and for the life of him, he can't understand why he doesn't just leave her alone until his anger cools, because that's definitely what Itachi would do with any other person. He _wants _to tell her how wrong she was and he _wants _her to know that he isn't the least bit happy with her decisions.

"No," she replies quietly as she focuses her gaze to the ground, too afraid to meet his angry eyes. She can't help but feel like a young child being scolded her parents, and as embarrassing as it is, she knows she deserves it. Sakura flushes in humiliation as she waits for Itachi to tell her how _disappointed _he is in her and that he would have _expected better. _

Neither of them say anything for a long time—one too scared to and the other too angry—and an uncomfortable tension settles throughout the small cottage. That is, until Sakura finds her backbone again.

"Before you start going off about how stupid _I _was, think of yourself first," she says viciously and when she looks up at him again, her eyes are filled with a familiar fire and Itachi is suddenly curious as to what has caused her sudden change in temperament. "How many times did I tell you when I healed your eyes that you need to give them time to heal?" She ventures a few steps closer to him, her hips taking a decidedly irritated sway to them as she walk.

"But, as usual, you completely ignore your medic's instructions and—" her voice catches at this point and Itachi realizes that hidden behind her anger, is distress. But what could have happened that would lead her to this? "You—your," she looks down again, her anger leaving her suddenly and she doesn't know how to tell him. The young captain says nothing, simply waits for her to continue.

"Your sharingan is damaged. The extended and repeated concentration of chakra in your eyes has burned your optic nerves more than I've ever seen before," her voice drops to a near whisper. She looks up to meet his gaze and he can see the pain, distress, and fear in her eyes. Itachi may be angry with her, but he would never wish for Sakura to fear him and the fact that she does leaves a heavy weight in the pit of his stomach. For a while, she doesn't say anything, they simply look at each other and Itachi wonders if she's going to continue talking.

"You won't be able to activate it anymore and—" Sakura takes a deep breath and releases it slowly, as if preparing herself, "Your vision will continue to deteriorate until you're blind."

If Itachi was ever surprised in his life, that is nothing compared to what he feels now. He has long since learned that he must hone all of his skills in the case that his sharnigan is no longer functional, but he had never expected that possibility to become reality. An Uchiha without a sharingan is simply…a ninja. Despite the manipulative elders and their tendency to interfere in his life, he takes a certain pride in being an Uchiha, but without his sharingan, can he really be called one anymore? What will his parents say? What would his _father _say? He has long since stopped trying to please his father in everything he does, but he's certain that this matter will cause a _lot _of problems for him and his father.

Sakura has learned to pick up subtle signs to read him, which is why she can see the clench of his jaw, the sharpening of his damaged eyes, the slight knitting of his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, Itachi, I did what I could, but they're _so _damaged, I've never seen anything like it."

His gaze focuses on her and he raises a hand to her face, tracing the contours as if trying to remember what she looks like.

"Is there any way to reverse the damage?" he asks after what feels like a lifetime.

"I'd have to ask shishou about it. This is just so new to me; I don't know how to approach it. When I have more chakra, I want to take another look," Sakura raises her own hand to hold his, "But I can't make any promises." Itachi closes his troubled eyes briefly and when he opens them, they are carefully blank once more and he turns away from his partner.

"Very well. We are leaving soon, get ready," he tells her before making his way into the washroom.

Itachi inspects the reflection looking back at him in the now foggy mirror. He clears some of the mist that had accumulated from his hot shower and looks at his charcoal eyes. There's no way he's lost the ability to activate the sharingan, something that's become second nature to him since he was a young child. He continues to stare at his reflection in the mirror and, although he knows he really shouldn't try, he focuses chakra to his eyes and activates the sharingan, or at least tries to. Before he can accumulate enough chakra, he has to stop due to the blinding, burning pain that erupts behind his eyelids. He has to grip the sink in a white-knuckled grip to keep himself from destroying something as he waits for the pain to subside. After some minutes, he's finally able to open his eyes again and he sees a pair of bloodshot—but thankfully not bleeding—eyes looking back at him.

He closes them tiredly, suddenly revolted at the sight of his red—but not sharingan red—eyes. He is confident that he will be able to use the sharingan again, whether it be with the help of a good medic healing his eyes—an image of Sakura immediately comes to mind—or by his own sheer will, he knows he will do it.

0-0-0

The rest of the mission is simple enough, compared to what they have both been through recently and is completed without needing to activate the sharingan, to Sakura's immense relief. With no leader, the organization is a mess, as Itachi had predicted, and all it takes are a few strategically placed exploding tags to bring the entire headquarters down in a matter of minutes. If there are any that had survived the explosion, they have nowhere left to return to and no one to report to, so they will have no other option but to continue on as independent missing nin. Konoha is safe from the threat of the growing powerful organization, as are the other hidden villages.

0-0-0

The trip to Konoha is made in almost complete silence, save for Itachi's instructions and it is enough to put Sakura on edge. She doesn't know what he's thinking at all, and it's a scary thing for her, because she's learned to read him quite well over the past months and she can't help but feel like they're almost strangers again, since before the mission, before he'd been her patient at the hospital. Almost like they hadn't met before. She suppresses the shiver of trepidation at the thought of that and continues to follow her captain's swift pace.

He's barely spared a glance in her direction and she's too afraid to interrupt what she's sure must be some deep thinking, just to ask him—what would she ask him, if he's alright? Of course he's not alright, who could possibly be anywhere near _alright _after hearing what she'd told him a few nights ago?

She can't help but gaze sadly at his back as she follows, wondering what will happen now. Will he shut her out forever? Dealing with grief alone is not the way to go, she knows, but with Itachi, it's the only way he knows how and if she tries to force her way into his life now, she might just be giving him more reason to shut her out. The last thing she wants now is for Itachi to hate her, but given the news she'd delivered, and since her recklessness is mostly to blame, she wouldn't really blame him if he did. Heck, she doesn't even really like herself all that much right now. She feels stupid for thinking this in the first place, because she _knows _that he cares about her more than she had ever thought possible—and maybe it's because her nerves have been rubbed raw from the past few days that she isn't thinking clearly—but she can't help but feel that when they get back to Konoha, Itachi will disappear from her life, wanting nothing more to do with her after the trouble she's caused him. She wants to say that she'll understand and will be okay if this is the case, that she wouldn't blame him if he decides he doesn't want anything more to do with her, but being completely honest, Sakura _wouldn't _be okay. She knows she'll want to yell and scream at him for making her care about him so, _so _much and then leaving her. It's selfish and immature, and she knows this, but she can't help what she feels.

0-0-0

It's been almost a week since the day Itachi had defeated Kajou and just under four days since they had dissolved the organization and made their way back to Konoha with just over one day to go. Since then, Itachi still hasn't spoken much to her and she had resolved earlier today that if Itachi doesn't talk to her within the next twelve hours, she's going to talk to him instead, but she feels her resolve crumble as the twelve hour mark draws closer. She chances a glance at her partner as they secure the chosen grounds to make camp for the night. Outwardly, she supposes Itachi looks fairly normal; no unnaturally tense shoulders, no slight furrowing of eyebrows, nothing that would suggest that he's even the slightest bit upset about the news of his eyes, or with her for causing the problem. Then she looks a little closer, and she sees the shadows dancing behind his eyes, indicating some deep, no doubt dark thoughts. Maybe he's still coming to terms with the situation and needs some more time, she suggests to herself. Less than one week surely isn't enough time to seriously consider the future of his dimming eyesight.

But she can't deny that the silence the past few days has been driving her closer and closer to the metaphorical edge—because they're in the middle of a forest, there is no _edge _anywhere, just lots and lots of trees. Ever since she was young, Sakura was always a talkative individual, never really comfortable with stretched out silences. For someone she considers extremely important to give her the silent treatment hurts a little more than she's willing to admit. Because admitting that would also be admitting that she'd let Itachi too close to her heart, despite knowing that something would happen that wouldn't allow her to just be happy with him. If it isn't Itachi pushing her away because of his morals, then it's something else. Someone, somewhere, just really does not want her to be happy.

She counts down the minutes in her head as she starts to gather some firewood for the night.

_One hour and thirty-nine minutes…and 17 seconds. _

Sakura comes back to the campsite with an armful of firewood that should get them through the night, and she finds the bedrolls laid out—because it isn't rain season in Fire Country, so there is no need for a tent really. Itachi is standing near the middle of the small clearing, holding two fish she assumes he'd caught in the river close by for dinner. She wordlessly drops the firewood near his feet and, using a modified katon jutsu, sets a few logs on fire, ready to roast some fish. Respecting Itachi's silence, she heads to the bedrolls and sits on top of one, pulling out a medical text Tsunade had asked her to read up on.

The silence settles over them for some time and Sakura makes sure to continue the countdown as she reads. She can feel her heartbeat increasing as she counts down with five minutes left, trying to sort her thoughts out so she can get them out without completely confusing her partner.

As if anticipating the oncoming talk, Itachi promptly disappears, saying something about cleaning up in the nearby lake with just over two minutes left until the twelve hour mark Sakura had set.

Two minutes and eight seconds, to be exact. Because

The young medic looks up abruptly at the sound of his shuffling and his muted voice and sighs dejectedly, realizing that she probably will not be able to talk to him until he is fully ready and willing to talk to her. Who knows, that time may never come. She tries to continue with her reading, hoping that maybe Itachi will return and she can talk to him then. But the minutes tick by and she finds her eyes growing increasingly heavier with each passing word and before she can stop herself, she feels her body drooping to lay fully on the bedroll, already asleep before her head even hits the makeshift pillow.

0-0-0

Itachi returns to the campsite mere seconds after Sakura falls asleep and his eyes travel to his sleeping companion. Her body is twisted in a way that looks mildly uncomfortable and he's almost certain that she's going to have back problems tomorrow morning. He watches Sakura for a few seconds more before making his way over to where she's laying and rearranges her limbs in a way that won't give her any trouble later on. After doing this, he goes over to the healthy campfire and looks into the flames contemplatively. He doesn't understand what he's been feeling lately and finds that, with Sakura, that's been happening a lot lately.

He had been extremely concerned, almost, dare he say it, _scared_ for her, when he first found out she was with Kei and then again when he had found out she left to pursue Kajou. Then, seeing her injured body had him on edge and enraged with the cause of her pain. Of course, his frustration with her recklessness was just under the surface as well. When she told him about his eyes, he had wondered if he should be angry with her, or himself, and he has recently realized that maybe it's a little bit of both. But he's long since learned that anger does not solve anything, it will only lead to reckless decisions; despite this, however, he can't shake off the frustration and he can't figure out why.

He's never felt such a wide array of intense emotions…ever, and he's left feeling a little exhausted from having been put through that in such a short amount of time. He doesn't know how to deal with everything and it's all so startlingly new to him; he doesn't know what to do with Sakura, himself, _them_. Until he can figure this out, he doesn't know if he'll be able to talk to Sakura, for fear that he may say something he doesn't mean, or may even regret.

Sakura has been nothing but trouble since this mission had started and his life had been so much easier before she had imposed herself in his life, but at this point, he doesn't see his future working out very well if she isn't in it. He'd tried that once before and it certainly didn't work out for either of them.

A rare, weary sigh escapes his lips as he moves his gaze to the sleeping medic by his side. He brushes a stray strand of hair from her face, wondering what on earth he's supposed to do now.

0-0-0

The next morning is equally as silent as the past few days have been as the two clean up their site, leaving no trace behind. They resume their journey back home with renewed vigour, despite the fact that neither of them had gotten a good night sleep the previous night.

0-0-0

They head straight to the Hokage tower as soon as they enter the village and Sakura doesn't get the usual rush of warmth she does when returning to the village after a mission. Instead, she feels stone cold dread making its way through her body, making it extremely difficult to walk, move, even think, but she forces herself to keep up with her captain as they make their way through the village.

She barely registers her captain's words as he gives Tsunade a brief report of the past two months, nor does she really take in the details that her shishou will need in each of their written reports. She doesn't hear much of anything, to be honest, since her mind is too caught up in possible procedures she could try to restore Itachi's Sharingan and prevent him from going blind.

"Sakura," she hears her mentor call sharply with a tone of impatience, "I asked if there was anything you wanted to add."

"Oh, um, right. Sorry," she says mildly flustered. Itachi still is not looking at her and her mentor is watching her expectantly. "There is one thing. It's more of a question though. Who exactly is Shizuma Takumi?"

Clearly the two occupants of the room had not expected her to know who that was, going from the sudden tension in her captain's form and the clouded look in her mentor's eyes.

"Come back tomorrow at dawn and we will have a proper meeting with the investigation team," the Hokage tells both Itachi and Sakura and she wonders how he's involved in this.

"Shishou, there's something else, actually. During the mission, Itachi's eyes were…damaged, and personally, I don't even know where to start. I've never seen anything like it and, well I was hoping you could take a look."

The busty blonde shifts her gaze to the Uchiha standing before her and nods slightly, "I'll be at the hospital when you're finished with your physical examinations. Now, if that's all, you're dismissed."

The two nod file out of the room, making their way to the hospital for the mandatory examination after missions to ensure they hadn't picked up any illnesses along the way. Once more, the trip there is completely silent and Sakura wonders if she'll ever be able to talk to the Uchiha again.

0-0-0

Tsunade sighs heavily and raises a hand to rub her tired eyes.

"It's worse than I imagined, to be honest." She shifts her gaze from Itachi to her apprentice and back to the patient, before continuing. "The optic nerves are not only burned, but some have even burst from the pressure—that's what caused the bleeding you told me about. They are worse than anything I've seen before, so this is as new to me as it is to you, Sakura. However, that means that while we can't guarantee good news, we also can't say that this is impossible to do."

Sakura breathes a sigh of relief at this, no matter how small the chance, at least there is one. And she will do everything in her power to restore Itachi's eyes to their former state.

"Any kind of extensive work on eyes needs to be done slowly and regularly so we don't stress the nerves and cells in the eyes. I don't have the time to spare to work on it personally, but I'm confident in your skills Sakura. With just a little more experience, you're certainly going to surpass me," she says this wistfully, but quickly switches back to her medic mode. "I'd say about one session everyday should be sufficient. But Uchiha, during the healing process, you are absolutely forbidden to use your sharingan _at all, _got it?"

Itachi nods, his expression still carefully blank, though inside, he is slowly becoming, dare he say it, _hopeful—_because when was the last time Uchiha Itachi was hopeful of anything—of the results. He reminds himself not to put too much faith in the procedure, because he fully understands that the chances of success are probably very small.

For the first time in a long time, Itachi finally settles his gaze on Sakura and the look in her eyes tells him that it unnerves her more than it should. Had he really become so cold in the past few days that she is now wary of him? He isn't entirely certain if he is angry at Sakura because she had put herself in _such _a dangerous position because of her recklessness, or if he's angry with her because ultimately, it was her irresponsibility that had led to his state—or maybe it's a little bit of both. Of course, he recognizes his faults as well, that he should have been more careful when using the sharingan.

"I just want to get washed up and settled in," Sakura's timid voice pulls him from his thoughts and he briefly wonders when the last time she had been _timid _around him was. "If you want, you can drop by later this evening. It'll be easier at my house since all of the equipment I'd need is there anyway."

"Very well," he says simply and with a respectful bow to the Hokage and a polite nod to his partner, he leaves the room silently.

0-0-0

Sakura paces back and forth in her newly dusted apartment, waiting for her patient to arrive. She makes her way to her supplies and sorts through them for the 3rd time that day, trying to get her mind off of her anxiety. About halfway through the supplies, a faint knock sounds at her door and she bolts up from her kneeling position and all but runs to the door.

Upon opening the door, Sakura realizes that, like herself, Itachi had also gone home and cleaned up. He is now wearing a pair of simple black pants and a plain black shirt, which she notes does not have the Uchiha fan on the back. She can't help but notice how unreasonably handsome he looks in such simple attire and she has to consciously beat back the urge to pounce on him.

"Please, come in," she says, stepping back to allow him into her home.

Itachi says nothing as he follows her further into her home and sits down at the table at her request. Moments later, she joins him, setting a cup of tea down in front of him as she does so.

Neither of them say anything for a long time and a palpable tension settles about her quiet home. Sakura fumbles with the hem of her shirt and Itachi drinks his tea as he simply watches Sakura. For all of her wishing that he'd at least look at her for the past few days, she can't help but fidget uncomfortably now that she finally has his attention. The intensity of his dark gaze is not something she can get used to and she feels incredibly out of place all of a sudden, despite the fact that she's in her own home. However, there's something that she's wanted to say for a long time, and what better time than now to say it, while she still has his full attention.

"I'm sorry, Itachi. This is entirely my fault that you're even in this position. I know I shouldn't have acted without your permission, but I did, and you're left to pay the consequences," she starts, looking at her suddenly very interesting cup of tea.

"Sakura—" Itachi starts to say, but she looks up at him, pleading to let her finish what she has to say, and for some reason, he actually stops talking. Had it been anyone else, he certainly would have disregarded them and continued what he had started.

"I know you're upset with my decisions and I can't tell you enough how sorry I am. I know my words now don't change anything, but I'm going to do everything in my power to heal the damage. I know you already know that the results aren't guaranteed, but I wanted to apologize beforehand if it isn't successful."

"I am upset with your decisions," Itachi pauses, putting his tea down on the table to face her fully, "because you put yourself in such dangers that you were unaware of. You were so close to dying, Sakura." He closes his eyes and when they reopen, the unmasked emotion she sees in them makes her breath catch and she suddenly doesn't remember what she'd been saying to him before. He can't tell her how much the thought of that actually scares him and he realizes that that night may have been the first time he has ever felt so overwhelmingly dreadful, probably in his entire life. He doesn't know how to express the foreign emotion, but he trusts that Sakura knows what he is trying to tell her, if the softness that has warmed her eyes is anything to go by.

"I have faith in your skills," he says finally and without waiting for any kind of permission, he leans down and seals his lips to hers. The kiss isn't romantic in any sense of the word. It is harsh, intense, and almost bordering painful, but the two have so much going on in their minds with no way to tell the other and this is the best way they can show each other what they`re feeling. At some point, Itachi pulls Sakura from her chair and settles her on his lap as he pulls her even closer to him, molding their two bodies together. Sakura takes advantage of their new position and tangles one hand in his unnaturally soft hair, the other fisting the front of his shirt in an attempt to hold on to something as they nearly devour each other.

After the initial passion dies down just a little, Sakura pulls back to catch her breath before meeting his lips again, this time softly. Itachi tightens his grip on her waist as he tilts his head to deepen the kiss and Sakura swears that if she were standing, her knees would certainly give out on her in awe of the amount of emotion Itachi is showing her.

He pulls away first and rests his forehead against hers and they simply stay that way for some time, catching their breaths.

"We should probably get started," she tells him after some time.

Itachi simply nods and closes his tired eyes but doesn't let go of the woman on his lap. He hears her giggle slightly before placing her hands on either side of his eyes. He is almost impatient for her to get started because, though he'd rather gouge his own eyes out with a rusty nail than admit it, the pain in his eyes he's been dealing with since the fight with Kei—made worse by the fight with Takumi—is has been worsening every minute and is bordering on unbearable.

Sakura closes her eyes and smiles slightly as she feels Itachi's grip on her waist tighten the slightest bit as she prepares herself for what will certainly be one of the longest, most straining healing processes yet.

0-0-0

To be continued…

0-0-0

A/N:

Whoa, that was a hard one…

So after three rewrites, I think I'm more satisfied with this chapter. I would say this story has about one or two chapters left and then it is oover. I'm going to be extremely relieved when that happens because I have been slowly losing my original vision for this story and I feel that it's been somewhat dragging on. I hope you enjoyed reading this one, and if you had the misfortune to read either of the first two versions of this chapter, then I sincerely apologize for that.  
Comments would be highly appreciated letting me know how I did this time, especially considering what had happened before.

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read!

-Ja ne!


	18. Dear readers

Dear faithful readers,

I apologize to everyone for doing this, but I must put this story on _temporary _hiatus. I know it's deisappointing, especially with only one chapter left, but I don't want to rush the ending. I want a well written ending that doesn't feel like a waste of time to read. Trust me, I've been there.  
Whether it's lack of motivation, inspiration, or something else, I just can't seem to sit down and finish this story. I've struggled over in all summer with little to no success. I promise that I will keep trying and will have it up as soon as I have something worth posting. Thank you for understanding.

Blue Rose


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